THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


RECONSTRUCTING 
AMERICA 

Sociologically  and  Economically 


BY 

BENJAMIN  J.  ROSENTHAL 

Author  of 
The  Need  of  the  Hoicr:  An  American 
Merchant  Marine 


THIS  EDITION  WILL  GO  TO  PRESS  WITHOUT 
ILLUSTRATIONS 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE 

ARCADIA  BOOK  COMPANY 

E.   H.   CARQUEVILLE,   PRES. 
ATTICA.    IND. 

CHICAGO:  117  NO.  DEARBORN  ST. 


Copyright  1919 

by  the 
Arcadia  Book  Co. 


Published   January,    1919 


BENJAMIN  J.   ROSENTHAL'S  RECORD 

Served  as  Chairman  of  Chicago  Committee  on  Unemployed,  by  appoint- 
ment of  Mayor  Thompson.  Succeeded  in  finding  positions  for  hundreua  of 
so-called  "down  and  out-ers"  who  were  lodged  in  the  Municipal  Lodging 

House  of  Chicago.  ^     ^  .^  ir  t   k  tu:» 

Founded  Employment  Committee  for  Men  Past  46  Years  of  Age.  this 
organization  taken  over  afterwards  by  the  Employers  Association  of 
Chicago,  and  later  by  the  U.  S.  Government.  .     .  r.  •      i  ^   o     „i. 

Founded  Employment  Committee  for  Employment  of  Crippled  People 
and  also  for  the  employment  of  Colored  Women.  These  Committees  also 
taken  over  bv  the  Department  of  Labor  of  the  United  States. 

Introduced  Bonus  System  and  Profit  Sharing  in  his  various  enterprises, 
which  are  among  the  most  successful  in  the  West.  ,    ^     vr  i-       i 

Served  as  Chairman  of  the  Merchant  Marine  Committee  of  the  National 
Business  League  of  America.  . 

Sent  abroad  as  Special  Foreign  Commissioner  by  the  National  Business 
League  of  America  to  investigate  foreign  commerce.  Reported  to  a  con- 
ference of  business  organizations,  held  in  the  Gold  Room  of  Congress 
Hotel  in  Chicago,  under  the  auspices  of  the  National  Business  League  of 

America.  ......     a         i 

Resolutions  adopted  by  this  conference  for  the  restoration  of  the  Ameri- 
can Merchant  Marine.  «»     •      .» 

Wrote  "The  Need  of  the  Hour:  An  American  Merchant  Marine,  a 
volume  which  gained  wide  circulation  and  paved  the  way  for  the  passage 
of  the  Shipping  Bill. 

Traveled  throughout  the  United  States,  addressing  various  Chambers 
of  Commerce  on  the  Shipping  Bill,  which  became  a  law.  W.  G.  McAdoo 
wrote:  "You  did  great  work  for  the  Shipping  Bill.  The  President 
recognizes,  as  I  do,  the  great  value  of  the  public  service  you  have  rendered.' 

Early  recognized  the  value  of  the  Play  Spirit  in  Modern  Industrial  and 
Commercial  Life.  Appointed  Chairman  of  Finance  Committee  of  Olympian 
Games  Committee,  and  sent  as  one  of  the  commissioners  abroad  to  visit 
the  foreign  countries  to  arouse  interest  in  the  Olympian  Games. 

Served  as  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Board  of  Education,  1891-1897. 

Introduced  in  the  public  schools  of  Chicago  the  articulate  method  of 
teaching  deaf  mute  children  to  replace  sign  method. 

Appointed  as  one  of  three  examiners  to  examine  the  police  of  Chicago 
for  the  first  civil  service  examination,  the  other  two  being  W.  R.  Stirling, 
Vice  President,  Illinois  Steel  Co.,  and  W.  T.  Baker,  ex-President  of  the 
World's  Fair — both  since  deceased. 

Served  as  Chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee  of  National  Peace 
Jubilee  held  in  Chicago  at  close  of  Spanish  American  War. 

Served  as  Director  of  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce. 

Served  a5  Director  at  various  times  of  banks  and  other  quasi-public 
organizations  and  institutions  in  Chicago  and  middle  West. 

In  camjjaign  for  the  re-election  of  Woodrow  Wilson  served  as  Treasurer 
i>f  the  Western  Business  Men's  League. 

Served  as  Member  of  U.  S.  Assay  Commission  by  appointment  at 
President  Wilson. 


I'l 


PREFACE 

A  book  without  a  preface  is  like  an  act  without  motif,  a  faith 
without  the  "reason  within,"  as  Paul  phrased  it ;  a  phenomenon 
witnessed  without  its  noumenon  understood. 

I  am  strong  for  the  preface  because  it  takes  into  the  pub- 
lisher's confidence  the  reading  public;  it  embodies  the  reason 
why  the  book  was  written  and  why  the  author  wrote  it.  When 
I  pick  up  a  book  to  read  I  look  first  at  the  preface,  and  if  it  is 
omitted  I  feel  that  I  am  not  being  fairly  dealt  with.  I  am 
tempted  not  to  pursue  the  volume  further. 

George  Bernard  Shaw  writes  illuminating  and  far-reaching 
prefaces.  Sometimes  his  prefaces  are  better  than  his  books. 
The  reason  for  and  circumstances  relating  to  the  message  the 
book  contains  are  often  as  important  as  the  message  itself. 

This  volume  by  Benjamin  J.  Rosenthal  is  written  because 
there  is  great  need  at  this  critical  period  in  the  world's  history 
for  such  a  book.  It  deals  with  the  things  that  are  vital  to  a  re- 
construction of  the  world's  activities  on  the  high  octave  struck 
in  Woodrow  Wilson's  program  of  world  democracy.  The  rise  of 
bolshevism  translated  into  the  slaughter  of  opposing  classes 
calls  for  a  right  solution  of  earth's  economic  problems,  and  this 
book  outlines  them  clearly.  It  points  the  way,  a  reasonable, 
demonstrated  middle  course  between  confiscation  of  property 
and  the  murderous  wiping  out  of  ruling  classes,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  stand-pat  capitalism  on  the  other,  which  will  yield  nothing, 
do  nothing  to  adapt  its  woni-out  methods  to  an  unparalleled 
situation,  standing  heart-frozen  in  an  attitude  of  self-sufficiency, 
blindness,  and  putrefying  selfishness ;  a  way  that  is  ordered  by 
Principle,  undictated  by  Compromise. 

[V] 


PREFACE 

This  volume  is  written  by  Mr.  Rosenthal  because  it  could  not 
have  been  written  out  of  the  heart  and  experience  of  any  other 
man.  A  book  is  no  greater  than  its  author,  and  the  message 
contained  between  those  covers  can  be  no  more  practical  and 
helpful  than  the  impulses,  deeds,  and  associations  of  its  author 
have  been  potent  in  blazing  the  trail  through  the  uncharted 
morasses  of  industrial  and  sociological  experimentation  to  the 
goal  of  freer,  sounder,  juster,  stabler,  and  more  wholesome  con- 
ditions. 

Mr.  Rosenthal's  volume,  "The  Need  of  the  Hour:  An 
American  jNIerchant  Marine,"  published  in  1915,  set  a  high 
mark  of  achievement.  It  strikingly  visualized  a  great  need,  and 
within  two  years  the  need  was  supplied  by  the  American  Con- 
gress. Its  vision  was  prophetic.  So  in  this  case,  I  feel  that  Mr. 
Rosenthal  in  approaching  the  larger  task  of  reconstruction  does 
so  with  a  greater  equipment,  a  prestige  born  of  added  achieve- 
ments and  supplemented  by  increased  dynamic  power. 

This  volume  in  the  hands  of  the  masses — the  working  men, 
the  superintendents  as  middle  men,  and  the  capitalists — 
will,  I  confidently  believe,  accomplish  its  beneficial  purpose.  It 
will  save  the  situation.  It  will  checkmate  on-coming  violence 
and  destruction,  and  at  the  same  time  melt  the  ice-clad  citadels  of 
heartless  indifference  and  greed.  If  I  did  not  so  believe,  the 
light  of  day  could  never  have  seen  this  published  volume  under 
my  auspices. 

E.  H.  Carqueville. 


[vi] 


INTRODUCTORY 

What  are  the  problems  confronting  this  nation  now  that  the 
war  is  ended?  is  the  question  we  ought  to  ask  ourselves  today. 
Tomorrow  may  be  too  late.  On  April  6, 1917,  when  every  fair 
request  of  this  government  to  the  Imperial  German  govern- 
ment was  denied, — when  even  its  appeals  for  fair  play  were 
ruthlessly  thrust  aside, — when  it  realized  that  the  beast  who 
then  occupied  the  German  throne  was  bent  on  but  one  object, 
the  lust  of  conquest,  and  to  gain  that  end  was  willing  to  violate 
every  moral,  spiritual,  or  international  law,  and  that  there  was 
nothing  left  for  this  nation  to  do,  if  it  wanted  to  hold  up  its 
head  before  the  civilized  nations  of  the  world,  it  declared  war 
against  the  German  Empire,  and  from  the  moment  that  it  entered 
this  contest  beside  its  brave  Allies  in  their  fight  to  stamp  out 
militarism  and  free  the  peoples  of  the  world  from  enslave- 
ment under  the  German  monarch,  there  has  never  been  a  shadow 
of  doubt  in  the  mind  of  the  American  people  what  the  outcome 
of  this  war  would  be.  There  could  be  but  one  outcome.  We 
would  win. 

While  some  of  us  may  have  felt  a  little  dubious  on  account 
of  our  lack  of  military  training  and  preparedness,  those  who 
know  the  American  people  felt  sure,  when  they  entered  this 
war,  that  they  would  soon  be  as  efficient,  militarily,  as  they 
had  always  been  industrially.  We  knew  the  brave  fighting  stock 
that  was  in  America.  We  knew  our  potential  strength.  We 
knew  that  we  possessed  the  wealth  and  the  man  power  that, 
when  harnessed  into  action,  would  drive  through  the  forces 
of  the  Central  Powers.  None  of  us  were  even  greatly  surprised 
when  our  brave  boys  entered  the  fight  on  July  18th  at  Chateau 

[vii] 


INTRODUCTORY 

Tliierry,  that  the  tide  of  battle  turned,  and  it  continued  ever 
since  that  glorious  day,  until  victory  was  won. 

We  knew  the  time  was  not  far  distant  when  the  Central 
Powers  would  acknowledge  their  grievous  blunder  and  plead  for 
mercy,  and  when  that  time  came,  and  when  we  shall  be  satisfied 
they  sincerely  wish  to  make  amends,  the  great  heart  of  America 
wUl  be  ready  to  help  even  the  people  of  the  Central  Powers  who 
have  ground  so  many  millions  of  innocent  and  suffering  people 
beneath  the  heel  of  militarism,  and  despotism. 

We  did  well  to  leave  the  outcome  of  this  war  to  the  brave 
men  whom  we  have  sent  over  there  under  their  splendid  com- 
mander. General  John  J.  Pershing,  co-operating  with  that  won- 
derful French  commander,  General  Foch,  the  indomitable  Eng- 
lish fighter,  General  Haig,  and  that  splendid  Belgian,  King 
Albert,  and  not  forgetting  those  fearless  Italians,  those  brave 
Serbs,  those  angels  of  mercy,  the  Red  Cross  workers,  nor  the 
thousands  of  civilians  who  have  marshalled  their  economic  forces 
back  of  this  war.  Nor  will  we  forget  those  millions  of  faithful 
working  men  and  women  who  have  stood  so  loyally  back  of  us, 
nor  the  millions  of  patriots  who  were  always  ready  to  put  the 
last  ounce  of  their  energy,  the  last  dollar  they  possessed  and  the 
last  drop  of  their  blood  into  this  struggle  for  freedom  and  hu- 
manity. 

With  all  of  these  titanic  forces,  a  wonderful  reserve  behind 
our  great  President,  the  champion  of  the  rights  of  mankind,  the 
entire  world  looks  to  him,  with  the  light  of  hope  and  confidence 
in  its  eyes,  realizing  that  to  his  spiritual  and  moral  strength 
the  liberty  of  the  world  may  be  safely  entrusted. 

And  so,  let  us  pass  over  all  these  facts  and  achievements, 
which  will  be  recorded  in  history,  and  read  in  the  days  to  come, 
so  that  our  children  and  their  childi'en  and  their  children's 
children  may  also  understand  how  civilization  was  saved  and 
the  world  made  safe  through  the  sacrifice  and  suffering  of  mil- 

[viii] 


INTRODUCTORY 

lions  of  patriotic,  loyal  citizens, — and  come  to  those  problems 
that  must  confront  us  after  the  war. 

There  was  some  excuse  for  our  lack  of  preparedness  before 
the  war,  and  I  need  not  dwell  upon  that  aspect  of  the  siibject, 
but  there  will  be  no  excuse  for  our  lack  of  preparedness  for 
what  inevitably  must  follow  the  close  of  the  war  and  the  read- 
justment of  our  entire  social,  political,  and  economic  structure, 
so  let  us  begin  at  once  to  build  our  foundation,  keeping  in  mind 
the  experiences  of  the  past  and  using  them  as  a  guide  for  the 
future. 

The  social  problem  is  the  most  important  of  all,  for  just 
as  the  splendid  morale  of  our  troops  accounted,  in  large  meas- 
ure, for  our  great  victories,  so  will  the  morale  of  our  people 
affect  our  present,  and  especially  our  future  destiny. 

If  the  standard  of  our  morale  sociall}'^  is  as  high  as  that  of 
our  boys  whom  we  have  carefully  trained  and  sent  abroad  to 
fight,  and  perhaps  to  die  for  us,  we  will  be  just  as  victorious 
socially,  politically,  and  economically  at  home,  as  we  have  been 
abroad. 

If  the  people  of  our  nation  are  not  honest,  efficient,  healthy, 
and  prosperous,  they  cannot  be  happy,  and  after  all,  happiness  is 
the  greatest  blessing  upon  earth ;  a  spiritual  happiness,  if  you 
please,  a  happiness  based  upon  the  accomplishment  of  things 
not  for  ourselves  alone,  but  for  our  fellow  men. 

This  war  with  all  its  sorrows  will  teach  us  one  great  lesson : 

"Help  us  to  help  each  other.  Lord, 

Each  other's  Cross  to  bear. 
Let  each  his  friendly  aid  afford. 

And  feel  his  brother's  care  " 

has  been  engraved  on  the  tablets  of  our  hearts,  and  will  be 
the  foundation  upon  which  the  new  world,  which  we  are  help- 
ing to  create,  will  live  forever. 

[ix] 


INTRODUCTORY 

Those  of  us  who  bear  this  thought  in  mind  will  bring  a  large 
measure  of  happiness  in  this  world,  and  comfort  to  those  who 
have  been  bereaved  and  stricken.  Posterity  will  feel  its  effect. 
The  tears  of  the  bereaved  and  sorrowing  will  be  wiped  away  by 
the  hand  of  love.  Love  will  take  the  place  of  hate.  "Greater 
love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for 
his  friend"  had  been  almost  forgotten  until  this  terrible  con- 
flict came  upon  the  world.  Every  man  who  gives  his  life  for  his 
country,  traces  these  burning  words  indelibly  upon  the  hearts 
of  those  of  us  who  have  been  spared.  While  it  has  cost  a  great 
deal  to  bring  these  lessons  home  to  us,  the  world  will  surely  be 
a  "decent  place  to  live  in"  after  the  close  of  this  war,  if  we 
start  now  to  work  out  the  problems  that  must  confront  us,  keep- 
ing in  mind  all  the  time  that  justice  is  the  handmaiden  of  love, 
and  the  two  together  spell  happiness. 


w 


Reconstructing  America 

Sociologically  and  Economically 

CHAPTER  I 
A  NEW  SOCIAL  ARISTOCRACY 

While  this  war  has  brought  great  sorrow  to  the  hearts  of 
millions  of  people,  and  while  it  has  been  a  terrible  shock  to  civ- 
ilization, it  will  bring  to  this  world  what  it  has  needed  for  many 
3'ears,  a  new  standard  of  aristocracy. 

The  day  of  social  aristocracy  is  past.  The  day  when 
wealth,  title,  and  position  were  the  essentials  to  success  is 
forever  past.  The  new  aristocracy  will  be  the  outgrowth  of 
different  material  entirely,  and  this  war  will  bring  about  the 
inevitable  change.  We  shall  no  longer  judge  a  man  by  his 
wealth,  his  title,  or  his  position.  He  will  be  judged  by  the 
degree  of  service  that  he  gave  his  country  during  the  war  and 
after  the  war,  by  the  sacrifices  he  has  made,  and  by  the  love 
he  has  shown  to  his  fellow  men.  That  will  be  the  standard  of 
the  new  world  aristocracy.  This  war  leveled  us  all  to  a  com- 
mon plane,  and  from  that  plane  we  shall  rise  according  to  this 
new  standard. 

Over  75,000  illiterate  soldiers  in  our  cantonments,  in  the 
first  draft  alone,  have  received  instruction  in  English.  Thou- 
sands of  men  who  could  not  even  write,  now  in  the  sei-vice  of  our 
country,  have  been  so  thoroughly  taught  that  illiteracy  will 
be  in  a  large  measure  wiped  out  through  the  educative  agency 
of  this  war. 

[1] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

A  large  number  of  Aoung  men,  sons  of  the  rich,  who  used  to 
spend  their  time  in  loop  cafes  and  on  the  gay  white  way,  ruin- 
ing young  women  and  wasting  their  inheritance,  served  in  the 
ranks  as  the  defenders  of  their  country.  Thousands  of  3'oung 
men,  diseased  in  body  through  dissolute  living,  were  regenerated, 
and  now  that  the  war  is  over,  these  young  men  will  be  returned 
to  the  arms  of  their  mothers,  different  in  every  respect,  in  most 
cases,  from  what  they  were  when  they  left  their  home — disci- 
plined where  they  knew  no  discipline ;  with  character  where  char- 
acter was  lacking;  thrifty  where  they  were  profligate;  healthy 
in  mind  and  body  where  they  were  weak  in  both,  loving  and 
ready  to  make  sacrifices  where  before  they  were  selfish  and  cold. 

There  is  one  other  condition  that  the  nation  must  confront 
at  once,  and  that  is  the  dope  question.  From  statistics  gathered 
by  the  government,  it  is  claimed  that  one  in  every  hundred  per- 
sons in  the  United  States  of  America  is  addicted  to  the  use  of 
dope  in  some  fonn  or  other.  Many  of  our  boys  who  entered 
service  were  also  similarly  addicted,  but  thank  God,  this  curse 
has  been  wiped  out  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  and  it  is  hoped 
lliat  the  civilians  of  this  country  will  make  every  effort  to  de- 
stroy irrevocably  this  disease  which  ruins  and  kills  both  body  and 
mind  faster  than  any  other. 

These  are  the  changes  that  we  may  expect  to  see  when  these 
young  men  return.  Fighting  as  they  are,  side  by  side,  the  rich 
man  beside  the  poor,  recognizing  no  distinction  or  caste,  when 
they  return  the  social  distinction  that  existed  before  the  war 
will  be  a  thing  of  the  yjast.  The  soldier  fighting  side  by  side 
with  his  former  employer  will  return,  perchance  an  officer  of 
higher  rank  than  his  employer.  The  employer  will  be  salut- 
ing his  employe  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  this  soldier's  bravery. 
This  will  be  a  common  sight  when  our  boys  return  from  battle. 

While  the  war  has  brought  great  sorrow  to  millions,  it  is 
doing  for  this  world  what  nothing  else  could  have  done;  it  is 

[2] 


A  NEW  SOCIAL  ARISTOCRACY 

breaking  down  a  social  barrier  that  had  been  gradually  becom- 
ing unbearable;  it  is  breaking  down  false  ideals  heretofore 
prevalent,  and  with  the  crushing  of  these  old  ideals  it  is  develop- 
ing a  new  manhood  which  will  bring  into  life  and  establish  a  new 
brotherhood  of  man  and  fatherhood  of  God. 


[S] 


CHAPTER  II 
HOUSING 

When  a  child  is  brought  into  the  world  under  the  most 
unfavorable  conditions,  can  it  be  reasonably  expected  that, 
badly  nourished,  badly  housed,  badly  trained,  and  badly  edu- 
cated, as  it  needs  must  be,  it  can  grow  up  in  the  likeness  of  that 
good  citizenship  which  our  nation  needs  to  make  it  ever  stronger 
and  better?  And  then  when  that  child  reaches  manhood  and 
starts  in  to  earn  his  living,  you  ask  him  to  be  efficient,  to  be 
clean,  to  be  happy.  If  that  is  what  you  want,  you  must  first  see 
to  it  that  not  only  his  environment  at  home,  but  in  the  factory 
be  such  that  it  tends  to  create  conditions  favorable  to  those 
ends. 

If  he  is  happy  amid  unfavorable  surroundings,  then  there 
is  something  seriously  wrong  with  him,  and  he  must  be  brought 
to  feel  that  "divine  discontent"  which  is  the  beginning  of  all 
effort  toward  better,  cleaner  living. 

You  expect  people  to  be  honest — and  you  have  every  right 
to  expect  that  they  should  be  honest — but  it  is  expecting  too 
much  to  ask  a  man  to  be  honest  and  not  give  him  a  fair  start 
after  he  is  brought  into  the  world. 

"All  men  are  created  equal"  sounds  all  right,  but  if  men  are 
created  equal,  the  start  some  of  them  get  after  creation  is  cer- 
tainly a  poor  one,  and  if  they  are  badly  housed  from  birth, 
badly  nourished  and  given  no  opportunity  for  education,  if 
they  cannot  earn  an  honest  living,  they  will  earn  one  dishon- 
estly, since  they  must  live.  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  but 
that  a  great  deal  of  dishonesty  is  traceable  to  the  home  environ 
nt  in  youth. 

[4] 


HOUSING 

You  ask  that  the  children  be  properly  raised,  yet  you  do 
not  give  them  a  chance.  If  you  look  around  our  own  city  and 
notice  the  kind  of  houses  that  our  working  people  are  obliged 
to  live  in,  unfit,  many  of  them,  to  shelter  animals,  much  less 
humans, — without  ventilation,  without  sanitary  or  hygienic 
facilities, — do  you  wonder  that  for  every  soldier  who  died  in 
battle  in  the  war,  another  life  has  been  wiped  out  by  the  deadly 
plague,  tuberculosis?  While  we  are  so  appalled  by  the  terrible 
losses  in  battle,  we  give  but  a  passing  thought  to  what  is  taking 
place  every  day,  all  around  us. 

When  you  realize  that  approximately  130,000  cases  of 
venereal  disease  among  the  troops  in  the  United  States,  have 
been  reported  during  the  eleven  months  from  September,  1917, 
to  the  first  week  in  August,  1918,  and  that  85  per  cent  of  these 
cases,  or  110,000,  were  brought  into  the  army  by  the  drafted 
recruits,  you  may  well  pause  and  consider.  There  must  be  some 
reason  for  this.  There  cannot  be  an  effect  without  a  cause. 
You  may  attribute  it  to  ignorance,  to  lack  of  education,  and 
the  like,  but  who,  or  what,  is  responsible  for  that  Ignorance  and 
lack  of  education?  We  are  "our  brother's  keeper,"  and  know- 
ing that  such  a  condition  exists,  how  can  we  shut  our  eyes  and 
refuse  to  recognize  it  or  make  an  effort  to  stamp  it  out  ? 

Can  a  workman  be  efficient  if  he  is  crowded  in  a  badly  ven- 
tilated, badly  lighted,  unclean  house  in  a  congested  neighbor- 
hood? Can  he  be  happy  if  he  is  obliged  to  occupy  living  rooms 
that  are  unfit  for  human  habitation  ?  i 

The  housing  problem,  therefore,  is  one  that  the  nation  must 
accept  now  as  one  of  its  gravest  problems.  Whether  the  gov- 
ernment itself  ought  to  step  in  and  build  houses  to  take  the 
place  of  those  that  are  unfit  for  occupancy,  as  is  done  in  coun- 
tries abroad  at  a  profit  to  the  government,  or  whether  private 
capital  should  be  secured  through  the  efforts  of  public-spirited 
citizens,  and  a  suflficient  number  of  houses  be  built  in  that  way, 

[5] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

or  whether  the  trade  unions  ought  to  secure  capital  and  build 
homes  and  lease  or  sell  them  to  their  workmen  on  easy  install- 
ments, the  writer  cannot  say.  However,  some  plan  ought  to  be 
worked  out,  and  must  be  worked  out,  if  we  wish  to  alleviate 
suffering,  lessen  crime,  and  improve  the  efficiency  of  our  work- 
men. 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a  group  of  houses  built 
by  the  United  States  Government  at  Hog  Island,  eight  miles 
from  Philadelphia,  close  to  the  government  shipyards.  These 
six-room  houses,  with  bath,  gas  range,  electric  lights,  hardwood 
floors,  and  white  enamel  woodwork,  demonstrate  what  can  be 
done  if  the  proper  effort  is  made.  These  comfortable  two-story 
brick  houses  are  leased  to  the  workmen  at  from  $24.00  to  $30.00 
a  month.  They  are  located  within  a  few  steps  of  a  street  car 
line  with  a  five  cent  fare,  running  to  Hog  Island  Ship  Yards. 
They  have  a  grass  plot  in  front,  a  porch,  and  a  nice  back  yard. 
A  furnace  supplies  the  heat  for  each  house.  They  have  every 
necessary  convenience  and  comfort  that  is  enjoyed  by  the  man 
who  lives  in  a  mansion.  I  have  no  doubt  that  those  who  occupy 
these  homes  will  be  more  efficient  and  cleaner  in  every  way  by 
reason  of  this  splendid  improvement  in  their  living  condition. 
The  government  has  built  965  houses  up  to  the  present  time,  and 
the  return  on  the  investment  will  be  sufficient  to  pay  the  gov- 
ernment a  good  rate  of  interest  and  allow  enough  to  take  care 
of  reasonable  depreciation. 

The  writer  does  not  know  what  the  government's  idea  Is 
about  the  ownership  of  the  homes,  but  he  thinks  it  ought  to  sell 
them  to  the  workmen  on  monthly  installments  over  a  long  period 
of  time,  with  a  low  rate  of  interest,  in  order  that  the  workman 
may  own  his  home,  for  in  addition  to  better  housing,  personal 
ownership  will  undoubtedly  increase  the  efficiency  of  every 
workman.     He  will  try  hard  to  earn  and  save  money  to  make 

[a] 


HOUSING 

payments  on  his  home  so  that  in  the  years  to  come  when  he  can- 
not work,  he  may  have  his  home  all  paid  for. 

The  employer  should  take  a  keener  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
his  employe.  He  ought  to  know  how  the  employe  is  getting 
along  financially  as  well  as  physically,  and  he  surely  ought  to 
know  what  his  housing  conditions  are.  If  they  are  bad, — and 
that  is  often  the  cause  of  an  employe's  inability  to  render  good 
service, — he  should  try  to  do  something  to  improve  these  condi- 
tions, not  at  all  in  the  way  of  charity, — for  an  employe  does 
not  want  charity,  nor  should  the  employer  give  it, — but  in  order 
to  protect  his  own  interests. 

If  the  employer  of  a  large  number  of  people  will  take  pains 
to  find  out  whether  his  employes  have  proper  housing,  and  if 
they  have  not,  will  see  about  securing  proper  housing  for  them, 
he  will  find  that  the  efficiency  in  his  business  will  increase  along 
with  the  improvement  in  the  living  conditions  of  his  employe, 
and  that  the  formidable  labor  turnover,  which  is  the  bane  of 
every  employer's  existence,  and  which  retards  efficiency,  will  be 
in  a  great  measure  removed.  If  an  employe  enjoys  good  living 
conditions  himself,  he  will  not  want  to  move  into  a  new  neigh- 
borhood, nor  will  he  want  to  move  if  his  neighbors  have  clean 
homes,  for  environment  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the 
morale  of  the  workman. 

It  is  not  sufficient  that  the  employer  should  pay  a  good  li^'ing 
wage,  leaving  enough  to  provide  for  contingencies  of  sickness 
and  unemployment.  It  is  essential  that  the  employer  should 
make  it  his  business  to  have  a  welfare  department  that  will  take 
a  personal  interest  in  each  employe,  and  in  this  way,  arouse  in 
each  employe  a  personal  interest  in  his  employer's  business. 

It  seems  to  me  it  is  very  practicable  that  wherever  a  num- 
ber of  factories  are  located  in  a  congested  district,  the  em- 
ployers could  get  together  and  visit  the  residential  neighbor- 
hood around  the  factories,  and  if  they  find  that  suitable  homes 

[7] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

are  not  provided,  they  could  form  a  home-building  organization, 
subscribing  for  enough  capital  to  erect  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, houses  with  proper  ventilation,  bath,  and  other  comfort 
facilities.  It  would  soon  be  found  that  social  and  labor  condi- 
tions would  thereby  be  greatly  improved. 

To  have  a  high  standard  of  efficiency,  there  must  be  a  higher 
standard  of  living.  That  does  not  mean  extravagant  living,  but 
it  means  clean,  wholesome  living.  Every  large  industrial  enter- 
prise should  have  on  its  payroll  a  psychological  expert  who 
should  interview  employes  at  certain  times,  and  an  index  card 
system  should  be  kept,  whereby  a  report  could  be  made  of  the 
employe's  home  conditions,  and  all  other  matters  of  importance 
that  affect  the  psychology  of  the  emplo^^e.  This  expert  should 
receive,  from  time  to  time,  reports  of  the  efficiency  of  each 
employe,  and  if  the  report  shows  that  the  employe  is  not  effi- 
cient, before  that  employe's  services  are  terminated  and  some 
one  else  put  in  his  place,  thus  increasing  the  turnover,  an  effort 
should  be  made  to  place  that  employe  in  some  work  where  he  may 
be  efficient,  because  he  may  be  a  round  peg  in  a  square  hole. 
It  may  be  that  his  inefficiency  is  not  due  to  the  fact  that  he  does 
not  know  how  to  do  the  work,  but  that  conditions  in  his  home 
have  acted  as  a  deterrent  to  his  efficiency  and  it  may  be  possi- 
ble to  remedy  these  conditions,  and  that  would  also  add  more 
to  the  man  power  of  the  nation,  instead  of  turning  him  adrift 
as  a  failure  and  perhaps  entirely  destroying  his  economic  and 
social  value. 

In  this  connection  I  would  like  to  call  the  attention  of  my 
readers  to  the  fact  that  so  much  stress  has  been  laid  upon  the 
morale  of  the  soldier.  The  morale  of  the  soldier  simply  means 
his  spirit  and  confidence,  and  that  spirit  and  confidence  is  in- 
spired in  him  by  the  confidence  of  the  people  behind  him,  and 
by  the  interest  of  the  people  behind  him.  In  other  words,  when 
this  nation  says  to  its  soldier,  "Go  and  fight  for  us,  and  we 

[8] 


HOUSIl^G 

will  stand  back  of  you  and  stand  back  of  your  families.  We 
will  see  that  you  want  for  nothing,  and  if  you  are  injured,  we 
will  see  that  you  are  taken  care  of,  and  if  by  any  chance  you  are 
killed,  we  will  see  that  your  families  are  taken  care  of,"  the 
soldier  fights  his  best. 

That  same  inile  applies  in  civilian  life.  If  we  say  to  the 
workman,"Give  us  the  best  that  you  can  and  we  will  do  every- 
thing we  can  to  see  that  you  are  well  paid,  that  your  working 
conditions  are  satisfactory,  and  that  your  living  conditions  are 
also  sanitary  and  hygienic.  We  feel  an  interest  in  you  and  in 
your  family,"  then  the  workman  will  reciprocate  as  the  soldier 
does. 

Surely  after  this  war  we  will  need  every  bit  of  man  power 
that  the  nation  can  possibly  find.  It  is  more  important  to  con- 
serve man  power  than  materials.  I  might  even  suggest  that  not 
only  should  every  emplo^^er  of  a  large  force  have  a  welfare  de- 
partment in  his  organization,  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  the 
employes,  but  in  addition,  some  knowledge  should  be  had  of 
their  financial  condition.  The  employer  must  realize  that  there 
are  thousands  of  temptations  confronting  the  employe,  that  is 
to  say,  temptations  to  separate  him  from  his  hard  earned  money. 
He  yields  to  some,  and  the  first  thing  he  knows  he  is  in  debt,  and 
then  he  becomes  the  prey  of  the  ruthless  loan  shark.  In  a  busi- 
ness in  which  the  writer  is  interested,  a  Welfare  Department 
established  some  time  ago,  invites  employes  to  come  to  that  de- 
partment before  seeking  the  loan  shark,  and  if  the  employe  is 
in  debt  and  must  have  money,  an  amount  up  to  $100.00  is  loaned 
out  if  this  Welfare  Fund.  The  employe  gives  his  note,  endorsed 
by  two  fellow  employes  and  bearing  six  per  cent  interest.  It  is 
usually  the  indebtedness  of  an  amount  under  $100.00  that  starts 
the  employe  on  his  way  to  the  loan  shark. 

This  Welfare  Department  has  been  established  now  for 
about  two  years,  and  up  to  the  date  of  this  writing,  not  a  single 

[9] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

penny  has  been  lost  out  of  this  fund,  and  the  interest  on  the 
loans  takes  care  of  the  small  bookkeeping  expense.  The  fund 
was  started  originally  by  the  writer  with  an  appropriation  from 
the  profits  of  the  business  to  be  set  aside  just  for  the  purpose  of 
making  these  loans.  There  is  no  doubt  that  many  cases  of 
distress  among  employes  have  been  relieved  through  this  plan. 
The  records  of  the  Welfare  Department  of  this  organization 
show  a  splendid  improvement  in  the  morale  of  the  employes  and 
the  efficiency  of  the  entire  organization  has  been  greatly  in- 
creased. While  it  is  not  entirely  due  to  the  fact  that  these  small 
sums  of  money  are  loaned  to  the  employes,  it  has,  however,  an 
important  bearing  upon  the  emploj^e.  The  emplo3^e  who  is  con- 
stantly hounded  by  loan  sharks  cannot  give  the  same  attention 
to  his  business  that  he  would  if  he  were  not  worried  about  money 
matters.  Aside  from  that,  the  rate  of  interest  which  the  em- 
ploye must  pay  a  loan  shark  practically  cats  up  his  wages  and 
he  feels  he  is  working  only  for  the  loan  shark  instead  of  for  his 
employer  and  himself. 

The  writer  had  a  case  in  point  some  time  ago,  where  a  man 
who  was  employed  by  a  railroad  company  and  had  been  in  the 
employ  of  that  company  for  about  forty  years,  had  sickness 
in  his  family  which  extended  over  a  period  of  several  years,  and 
gradually  drained  all  his  resources.  He  fell  into  the  hands  of 
loaning  agencies,  and  then  he  had  to  borrow  a  little  more  money 
and  he  went  to  other  loaning  agencies,  and  when  he  came  to  the 
writer,  out  of  his  salary  of  $150  a  month  he  was  actually  try- 
ing to  pay  back  to  the  loaning  agencies,  $112.50  in  interest,  and 
he  still  owed  the  original  amount  that  he  had  borrowed.  He 
was  simply  going  from  bad  to  worse. 

In  taking  up  his  case,  the  loaning  agencies  were  advised 
that  they  would  be  prosecuted  by  the  writer  if  they  did  not 
relieve  this  man  of  his  burden,  for  he  had  already  paid  them  in 
interest  an  amount  equal  to  the  principal  besides  a  reasonable 

[10] 


HOUSING 


rate  of  interest.  A  compromise  was  made  and  the  loaning  agen- 
cies were  paid  off.  The  man  then  gave  the  writer  his  note  with 
interest  at  six  per  cent  per  annum  (which  was  enough  for  him 
to  pay)  and  this  indebtedness  is  now  being  paid  off  gradually 
in  monthly  installments. 


[11] 


CHAPTER   III 
THE    DOMESTIC    PROBLEM 

Tlie  domestic  problem  is  one  that  we  have  had  with  us  for 
many  years,  and  instead  of  arriving  at  a  sokition,  we  seem  to 
be  getting  farther  away  from  it,  with  the  result  that  fewer 
women  are  seeking  service  in  positions  which  really  should  be 
much  sought  after,  and  while  the  scarcity  of  help  may  be  due  in 
a  measure  to  the  falling  off  in  immigration,  at  the  same  time, 
even  before  the  war  it  was  becoming  more  and  more  difficult  to 
find  people  willing  to  accept  domestic  service. 

From  the  writer's  viewpoint  the  reason  is  very  apparent. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  domestic  service  pays  the  highest 
scale  of  wages  of  any  service  open  to  women,  except  professional 
or  emergency  war  work,  women  have  been  averse  to  seeking 
domestic  employment,  especially  in  private  homes,  for  the  rea- 
son that  the  "mistress"  has  treated  the  employe  so  much  like 
a  menial  that  the  employe  has  felt  a  loss  of  self-respect.  By 
this  is  meant  that  the  "mistress"  (and  by  the  way,  tliis  is  a  mis- 
leading term  and  should  be  abolished),  in  many  cases,  and  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  in  a  great  many  cases, — has  felt  that  any- 
thing was  good  enough  for  the  domestic  to  eat  and  any  place 
was  good  enough  for  her  to  sleep  in,  and  but  little  consideration 
has  been  given  to  the  hours  of  service.  In  other  words,  the 
domestic,  like  the  policeman  was  expected  to  be  on  the  job  all 
the  time. 

These  things  could  be  very  easily  remedied,  and  if  that  were 
done,  it  would  be  but  a  short  time  before  women  would  be  very 
glad  to  enter  domestic  service.     In  the  first  place,  as  before 

[12] 


THE  DOMESTIC  PROBLEM 

stated,  the  wage  scale  is  the  highest,  perhaps,  aside  from  pro- 
fessional service  or  emergency  war  work.  The  average  domestic 
today  is  earning  at  least  $8.00  a  week,  in  addition  to  room  and 
board.  In  many  cases  domestics  are  receiving  as  much  as  $12.00 
a  week,  and  in  rare  cases  are  they  receiving  less  than  $6.00.  The 
cheapest  room  and  board  that  a  woman  can  secure  today  would 
cost  her  $8.00  a  week,  probably  more  than  that,  so  that  a 
domestic  is  really  earning  somewhere  from  $15.00  to  .$20.00  a 
week.  There  is  probably  no  objection  on  the  part  of  the  domes- 
tic to  the  wage  scale.  In  fact,  it  is,  and  ought  to  be,  a  great 
attraction,  but  thousands  of  women  who  should  be  in  domestic 
service  are  working  for  half  of  this  wage  today,  just  because 
they  feel  that  the  work  they  are  doing  is  more  dignified  and 
gives  them  a  higher  social  standing  or  more  opportunity  for 
recreation  or  self-improvement.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  these 
domestics  were  treated  as  they  should  be  treated,  their  work 
would  be  considered  just  as  dignified,  and  surely  as  important 
as  other  kinds  of  work  that  women  are  performing,  such  as 
factory  work  and  shop  or  store  work.  There  surely  can  be 
but  little  difference  between  waiting  on  customers  in  a  store 
and  waiting  on  these  same  people  in  their  homes.  This  is  just 
a  barrier  that  has  been  raised,  that  really  has  no  substance. 
It  is  nothing  but  a  shadow.  From  a  moral  standpoint  there 
can  be  no  question  but  that  a  young  woman  is  safer  employed 
in  some  good  home  with  decent  surroundings,  than  she  is  in 
some  factory,  eking  out  a  miserable  existence  and  being  sub- 
jected to  thousands  of  temptations  and  annoyances. 

Now  what  method  can  be  suggested  to  overcome  these  ob- 
jections on  the  part  of  the  workers?  First  of  all,  I  propose 
that  when  builders  erect  apartment  buildings  or  homes  they 
do  not  put  the  room  or  rooms  intended  for  the  domestics  in 
some  dark,  dingy  part  of  the  building,  unfit  for  any  other  pur- 
pose, and  therefore  turned  into  bedrooms  for  maids.     Now  a 

[13] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

maid  is  entitled  to  and  should  have,  a  bedroom  with  good  light 
and  ventilation,  and  tlie  room  should  be  large  enough  for  her 
comfort.  In  addition  to  that,  in  building  large  homes,  or  large 
apartments,  there  should  be  a  sitting  room  for  the  use  of  che 
maids,  and  they  should  be  permitted,  without  question  to  have 
suitable  company,  male  or  female,  in  the  sitting  room.  A  do- 
mestic should  have  the  same  right  to  receive  a  friend  in  tlie  sit- 
ting room  in  the  domestics'  quarters,  as  the  young  lady  of  the 
house  has  of  receiving  a  visitor  in  her  parlor. 

Domestics  should  also  have  more  hberty  in  comiection  with 
going  out  evenings  after  their  work.is  done,  provided,  of  course, 
they  return  at  a  reasonable  hour,  so  that  their  proper  work 
is  not  interfered  with.  The  time  that  is  generally  allowed  a 
domestic  is  every  second  Sunday,  and  every  second  Thursday; 
in  other  words,  she  has  one  day  off  in  every  seven.  In  addition 
to  that,  the  domestic  should  have  at  least  one  extra  evening,  in 
fact,  she  should  have  two  evenings  ofi'  each  week. 

The  writer  believes  that  if  these  changes  were  made,  women 
would  soon  seek  domestic  service  eagerly,  instead  of  accepting 
it,  as  they  do  now,  only  as  a  last  resort.  These  women  have  a 
sense  of  self-respect  and  they  feel  that  their  self-respect  is  out- 
raged if  they  are  put  in  some  dingy,  poorly  ventilated  back 
room,  and  the  only  place  they  have  to  receive  their  company 
is  the  kitchen. 

These  restrictions,  undoubtedly,  are  responsible  for  the 
unwillingness  of  these  women  to  serve  in  a  domestic  capacity. 
The  moment  these  restrictions  are  removed,  and  the  woman 
knows  she  is  going  to  have  a  decent  room  to  sleep  in,  with  a 
decent  bed  and  comfortable  mattress,  and  pillows,  a  sitting 
room  where  relatives  and  friends  may  visit  her  occassionally 
in  the  evening,  and  freedom  to  go  out  a  couple  of  nights  a 
week  the  same  as  every  other  working  woman, — wholesome  food 
to  eat,  of  the  same  quality  as  that  served  on  the  regular  table, 

[14] 


THE  DOMESTIC  PROBLEM. 

instead  of  food  different  from,  and  often  inferior  to  that 
served  at  the  family  table — yo\x  wiU  find  that  there  will  be  no 
scarcity  of  domestics,  but  instead  a  big  demand  for  positions 
as  maids  in  such  famihes  as  are  willing  to  concede  these  priv- 
ileges and  give  the  maids  an  opportunity  to  hold  up  their  heads 
beside  those  who  are  employed  in  factories  and  stores.  Aside 
from  the  fact  that  this  is  due  the  maid  as  a  matter  of  fact,  as 
a  protection  to  the  famihes  who  have  children  it  is  best  that  the 
maids  who  are  constantly  about  these  young  people  have  such 
an  influence  that  they  will  insure  the  children's  welfare,  for 
the  maid  who  is  ill-treated  can  hardly  be  expected  to  properly 
care  for  the  children  of  the  family. 

Domestics  should  also  be  supplied  with  good  literature  so 
that  they  may  have  an  opportunity  to  improve  their  minds 
during  their  leisure  time.  It  is  also  quite  necessary  that  the 
mistress  commend  the  maid  when  her  work  is  good,  just  as  the 
employer  commends  his  employe  for  his  or  her  work  when  it  is 
well  done.  A  kindly  word,  and  a  little  interest  in  a  domestic, 
will  help  a  great  deal  toward  lightening  her  labor,  and  making 
her  happy  and  comfortable,  and  her  employer  as  well. 

It  should  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  women  are  human 
beings  just  like  ourselves.  They  are  sensitive,  just  as  we  are, 
and  uncalled  for  discourtesy  hurts  them  to  the  quick,  just  as 
much  as  it  does  us. 

During  twenty-seven  years  of  married  life,  the  writer  has 
observed  the  work  and  actions  of  many  women  in  domestic 
service,  in  his  own  home,  and  in  the  homes  of  his  friends,  and 
from  this  experience,  is  satisfied  that  these  women,  if  offered 
proper  encouragement  would  be  very  happy  to  remain  in  domes- 
tic service,  and  would  advise  their  friends  to  enter  such  service 
as  well. 

We  have  had  a  rule  in  our  household  for  many  years,  that 
in  the  evening,  when  the  maids  have  finished  their  work,  they 

[15] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

are  to  be  allowed  to  go  out  unless  required  for  some  specific 
purpose  that  evening,  and  of  course,  they  are  supposed  to  re- 
turn at  a  reasonable  hour. 

While  we  have  not  had  a  sitting  room  for  their  exclusive 
use,  which  the  writer  has  always  regretted,  at  the  same  time, 
we  have  made  no  objections  to  the  maids  entertaining  their 
friends,  providing  that  they  did  not  disturb  the  rest  of  the 
house,  which  they  have  never  done.  Very  often  we  are  absent 
from  the  city,  and  we  give  the  maids  special  privileges,  such 
as  extra  days  off,  in  order  to  lighten  their  burden  as  much  as 
possible  and  make  them  as  happy  as  we  can.  We  have  experi- 
enced little  or  no  difficulty  in  finding  satisfactory  maids  dur- 
ing the  years  that  we  have  kept  house.  We  have  seldom  had 
a  domestic  leave  us  except  for  some  good  personal  reason,  and 
our  only  regret  is  that  the  quarters  we  occupy  in  the  city 
are  not  nearly  as  pleasant  as  they  should  be.  When  one  con- 
siders that  these  domestics  work  hard  all  day,  the  least  we 
can  do  is  to  give  them  a  decent  room  to  sleep  in,  a  comfortable 
bed  to  lie  upon,  good  wholesome  food  to  eat,  and  the  privilege 
of  visiting  and  being  visited,  so  that  their  minds  may  be  re- 
laxed and  some  happiness  brought  into  their  lives. 

In  the  writer's  opinion,  the  best  place  for  any  young  woman 
who  is  supporting  herself  is  in  domestic  service,  and  she,  her- 
self, would  quickly  recognize  that  fact  if  the  employer  made  an 
effort  to  make  domestic  service  as  attractive  as  possible,  so 
tliat  young  women  would  seek  it,  instead  of  trying  to  avoid  it. 

This  is  one  service  where  there  is  no  complaint  about  wages. 
The  wage  scale  is  certainly  attractive,  but  other  conditions  are 
so  bad  that  even  if  double  the  present  wage  were  paid,  I  doubt 
if  there  would  be  much  inclination  on  the  part  of  young  women 
to  enter  domestic  service. 


[16] 


CHAPTER   IV 

"A   MAN'S    A    MAN    FOR    A'    THAT" 

I  recommend  that  every  reader  of  this  book  read  Robert 
Burns'  poem,  "A  Man's  a  Man  for  a'  That."  If  the  employer 
had  only  kept  that  truth  in  mind,  he  would  have  saved  thou- 
sands upon  thousands  of  men  who  are  now  human  wrecks. 
In  the  mad  race  for  efficiency,  the  moment  a  man  has  been  unable 
to  keep  up  with  the  high  standard  that  it  appears  must  be 
established  in  all  successful  institutions,  he  is  ruthlessly  cast 
aside  instead  of  being  placed  in  some  other  employment  where 
his  experience  would  have  some  value,  even  though  at  a  possi- 
ble reduction  of  wages. 

Instead  of  that,  in  most  cases,  he  is  thrown  upon  the  scrap 
heap,  and  then  a  new  employer  is  loath  to  hire  him  on  the 
theory  that  if  his  old  employer,  whom  he  had  served  many  ye:.,rs, 
considered  him  worthless,  he  must  be  so.  That  assumption  has 
been  a  most  unreasonable  one,  and  has  caused  great  suffering. 
It  is  responsible  in  a  large  measure  for  the  filling  up  of  jails, 
insane  asylums,  suicide  graves,  and  poorhouses,  for  there  is 
nothing  so  pitiful  as  a  discouraged  human  being.  When  hope 
is  cast  out  of  his  bosom,  recklessness  takes  its  place,  despair  fol- 
lows in  its  wake,  and  then  anything  may  happen. 

A  few  years  ago,  the  writer  was  appointed  chairman  of  an 
Unemployment  Committee,  and  was  given  carte  blanche  in 
connection  with  the  finding  of  employment  for  so-called  "bums" 
in  the  municipal  lodging  house  of  Chicago.  A  sur\'ey  of  these 
men  was  made  at  different  times.  Ninety  per  cent  of  them  were 
young  men,   the   average   age   of   the   thousand   surveyed   was 

[17] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

only  tliirty-five  years.  Ninety  per  cent  of  them  were  capable  of 
doing  good  work,  yet  for  a  hundred  and  one  reasons — it  is  not 
necessary  to  go  into  detail  as  to  them — the  men  lay  on  the  bare 
floors,  at  night,  in  the  municipal  lodging  house  of  our  city,  the 
Salvation  Army  barracks,  and  in  private  lodging  and  "flop" 
houses. 

The  sight  that  met  the  gaze  of  the  writer  night  after  night, 
when  he  made  the  rounds  of  these  institutions  during  tliat  win- 
ter of  1915,  was  revolting,  to  say  the  least,  and  it  was  heart- 
rending, too.  It  did  not  seem  possible  that  the  American  peo- 
ple could  be  willing  to  see  these  men  thrust  into  the  very  depths 
of  degradation  without  anyone  oft'ering  them  a  word  of  encour- 
agement or  a  helping  hand.  "Man's  inhumanity  to  man  makes 
countless  thousands  mourn." 

The  writer  has  always  felt  that  the  words  of  the  poet,  "A 
man's  a  man  for  a'  that"  should  be  applied  to  this  class  of  men 
especially,  and  with  that  tliought  in  mind,  an  effort  was  made 
to  see  what  could  be  done  to  redeem  these  men.  After  a  sur- 
vey of  the  men  was  made,  it  appeared  that  it  ought  not  to  be 
difficult  to  find  employment  for  them  and  every  effort  was  bent 
to  that  end.  Within  a  short  time,  fully  ninety  per  cent  of  tl.ese 
men,  who  were  formerly  the  wards  of  the  city,  and  who  felt  that 
the  hand  of  society  was  dragging  them  down,  were  offered  an 
opportunity  to  rise  above  their  environment.  Employment  was 
found  for  them,  and  in  a  short  time,  the  municipal  lodging 
house  of  our  city  was  practically  empty,  and  most  of  these  men 
made  good.  It  was  a  surprising  revelation  to  many  who  were 
not  familiar  with  the  circumstances  and  the  men,  but  to  the 
writer,  it  seemed  but  the  natural  result  of  a  determined  effort 
working  toward  the  re-awakening  and  strengthening  of  dor- 
mant human  energy. 

The  question  has  been  asked  so  often,  Does  drunkenness  fol- 
low unemployment,  or  does  unemployment  follow  drunkenness? 

[18] 


"A  MAN'S  A  MAN  FOR  A'  THAT" 

For  my  experience  with  unemployed  men, — and  I  certainly  have 
come  in  contact  with  many  of  them,  and  ought  to  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  speak  with  authority  on  this  subject, — I  want  to  say 
that  my  honest  belief  is  that  unemployment  does  not  follow 
drunkenness,  but  that  drunkenness  follows  unemployment. 
When  a  man  is  out  of  work,  and  goes  from  place  to  place,  un- 
able to  find  it,  he  seeks  solace  in  drink,  if  he  has  the  means  to 
buy  it,  and  if  he  has  not,  he  accepts  any  odd  job  for  the  price  of 
a  drink.  If  we  want  to  stamp  out  whiskey,  the  first  thing  we 
should  do  is  to  stamp  out  unemploj^ment. 

With  the  movement  for  the  uplift  of  the  discouraged  and- 
"down  and  outs"  came  about  another.  Hundreds  of  men  liv- 
ing in  the  city  of  Chicago  visited  the  office  of  the  writer  and 
complained  that  because  they  had  passed  the  age  of  forty-five 
years,  a  dead  line  had  been  drawn,  they  were  economically  dead 
— employers  would  not  give  them  work, — and  as  a  result  they 
were  obliged  to  take  their  children  out  of  school,  if  they  had 
children ;  they  were  obliged  to  live  on  charity ;  they  suffered 
every  indignity;  and  the  only  crime  they  had  committed  was 
that  of  growing  old.  This  condition,  upon  investigation,  was 
found  to  be  appalling.  It  was  ascertained  to  be  a  fact  that  in 
nearly  every  industrial  establishment,  not  only  in  Chicago, 
but  throughout  the  country,  a  dead  line  had  been  drawn. 
The  employers  gave  many  reasons,  some  of  which  were  very 
proper  from  their  viewpoint.  One  was,  for  instance,  that  an 
employer  having  adopted  a  pension  system  whereby  his  em- 
ployes were  pensioned  after  arriving  at  a  certain  age,  or  after 
a  certain  period  of  service,  it  was  not  fair  to  the  employer  or  to 
the  employes  to  hire  a  man  advanced  in  years,  and,  in  a  few 
years  pension  him.  There  was  logic  in  this  position,  but  that 
objection  was  quickly  met.  The  employer  was  asked  to  employ 
these  men  and  have  them  sign  pension  waivers  wherever  it  was 
thought  proper.     They  were  asked  to  try  these  men,  starting 

[19] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

them,  so  to  speak,  at  the  bottom  again,  and  giving  them  a 
chance  to  work  up.  The  responses  were  splendid.  The  employ- 
ers of  Chicago  and  other  cities  became  interested  in  the  move- 
ment, and  the  Employers  Association  of  Chicago,  into  which 
the  work  in  Chicago  was  after  a  while  absorbed,  in  a  recent  re- 
port has  shown  that  in  the  period  of  a  year,  they  have  found 
employment  for  over  11,000  of  these  men  past  45  years  of  age, 
and  the  best  part  of  it  is  that  practically  all  of  them  are  mak- 
ing good,  and  now  these  men  have  been  restored  to  society ; 
they  may  hold  up  their  heads  as  self-respecting  citizens,  and 
they  are  doing  their  bit  to  increase  the  man  power  of  the 
nation. 

This  movement  was  again  recently  and  finally  taken  over  by 
the  government  in  its  consolidation  of  the  different  labor 
movements,  and  the  last  report  I  have  of  the  organization, 
which  was  only  founded  two  years  ago,  shows  that  over  21,000 
men  past  45  years  of  age  have  been  given  employment  in  Chicago 
alone.  The  writer  has  just  received  the  further  news  that  the 
United  States  Government  has  just  created  a  branch  of  its  labor 
service,  to  be  known  as  the  United  States  Employment  Bureau 
for  Handicapped  Persons,  and  has  placed  Mr.  Victor  T.  J. 
Gannon  in  charge  as  Director  General.  Mr.  Gannon  formerly 
operated  very  successfully  the  bureau  in  Chicago  which  was 
founded  by  the  writer.  He  is  now  traveling  throughout  the 
country,  visiting  the  large  industrial  centers,  and  opening  up 
bureaus  for  this  particular  service.  The  writer  feels  that  here- 
after every  man  or  woman  handicapped  by  age  or  physical  dis- 
ability will  be  given  a  chance  to  earn  his  or  her  living,  instead 
of  becoming  a  charge  on  the  state.  The  reader  may  think  that 
perhaps  the  war  was  responsible  for  this  employment  of  older 
men,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  movement  started  six  months 
before  the  war,  and  during  those  six  months  several  thousand 
men  were  employed.     In  fact,  they  were  employed  as  fast  as 

[20] 


"A  MAN'S  A  MAN  FOR  A'  THAT" 

the  organization  could  send  them  out.  The  war,  of  course,  gave 
impetus  to  the  movement. 

The  writer  has  before  him  a  photograph  of  Mr.  X,  now  58 

years  of  age.    He  was  employed  by  the Express  Co.,  for 

38  years,  holding  responsible  positions  with  that  company,  hav- 
ing begun  as  wagon  boy,  and  worked  his  wa}'  up.    A  few  years 

ago,  the  Express  Co.  took  over  the  business  of  the 

Express  Company.     Unfortunately,  on  account  of  its 

pension  system,  by  which  an  employe  was  pensioned  at  the 
age  of  60  years,  they  had  established  a  ruling  that  em- 
ployes would  have  to  enter  their  service  under  the  age 
of  35  years.  From  their  standpoint,  it  was  only  fair  and 
proper  that  in  view  of  the  fact  that  they  were  pensioning 
an  employe,  they  should  have  at  least  25  years  of  his 
service.  Besides  it  would  have  been  unfair  to  the  employes, 
if  the  company  had  employed  men  of  50  and  then  pensioned 
them  at  60,  while  other  men  had  to  give  at  least  25  years  of 
service.      Therefore,   when   this   consolidation    took   place,   the 

Express  Company  found  it  could  not  take  over  employes 

of  the Express  Company  who  had  passed  the  age  of  35 

years.  Besides,  it  did  not  require  a  great  many  additional  em- 
ployes to  take  care  of  this  additional  business.  Therefore,  the 
company  did  not  see  that  it  was  doing  an  injustice  to  any  one  in 
leaving  out  men  who  had  passed  the  age  of  35  years. 

After  leaving  the  express  company,  Mr.  X  opened  a  little 
store  on  the  south  side.  He  was  unsuccessful  in  the  business  and 
lost  his  money.  He  was  then  56  years  old  and  found  he  could 
not  secure  employment,  because,  wherever  he  went,  he  was  told 
that  he  was  past  the  age  of  employment.  Mr.  X  therefore 
came  to  the  writer  with  his  story. 

The  writer  went  to  the  Express  Company  and  ex- 
plained the  whole  matter  to  the  then  vice-president,  and  the  gen- 
eral agent,  who  had  formerly  been  with  the  Express 

[211 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

Company,  before  it  was  absorbed.  They  were  both  very  much 
impressed  by  what  the  writer  told  them,  and  decided  forthwith 
to  re-employ  Mr.  X  and  to  take  back  such  other  of  the  old 

Express  Company's  employes  who  had  rendered  good 

service  and  who  wanted  re-emploj^ment.  I  believe  the  under- 
standing was  that  they  would  sign  pension  waivers  or  that  they 
would  get  their  pro-rata  of  the  pension  based  upon  their  years 
of  service,  if  they  stayed  with  the  company  until  they  retired, 
which  was  certainly  a  very  fair  arrangement. 

Mr.  X  has  just  sent  me  his  picture  with  his  signature  and 
this  significant  inscription,  "58  years  young."  He  also  writes 
me  that  since  his  re-employment  he  has  purchased  $250.00  in 
Liberty  Loan  bonds,  quite  a  number  of  Thrift  Stamps,  and  has 
a  savings  account  at  the  bank,  and  since  the  time  he  entered  the 

service  of  the Express  Co.,  he  has  been  promoted  twice 

and  is  now  holding  a  responsible  position.  This  is  only  one  in- 
stance out  of  many  that  might  be  cited. 

There  is  another  far-reaching  effect  of  this  non-employ- 
ment of  older  men  that  vitally  affects  the  future  of  this  nation. 

The  records  of  the  Compulsory  Education  Department  of 
the  Board  of  Education  of  the  city  of  Chicago  show  that  in  the 
year  1916,  about  15,000  children  between  the  ages  of  14  and 
16  were  taken  out  of  the  public  schools  and  10%  wore  taken 
out  the  day  they  reached  the  age  of  14  years.  LTndcr  the  law 
a  child  between  the  ages  of  14  and  16  cannot  be  taken  from  the 
public  schools  of  our  city  without  a  working  permit,  and  this 
permit  is  not  supposed  to  be  issued  except  in  cases  where  the 
child's  labor  is  needed  to  support  the  family. 

Many  of  these  children,  according  to  the  records,  had  not 
passed  the  third  grade,  so  that  one  can  see  the  significance  of 
this.  Children  with  the  mentality  of  ten-year-olds,  were  forced 
into  employment  and  expected  to  hold  their  own,  handicapped 
in  this  way,  in  the  struggle  for  existence.    Would  you  wonder  if 

[22] 


"A  MAN'S  A  MAN  FOR  A*  THAT'* 

the  nation  broke  down  utterly  with  such  a  policy  being  per- 
sisted in. 

If  there  ever  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  world  when  the 
child  should  receive  every  attention  and  be  afforded  every  pos- 
sible means  of  receiving  an  adequate  education  and  industrial 
training  as  well,  that  time  is  now.  Not  only  this  nation,  but 
every  nation  will  have  need  of  its  greatest  and  most  effi- 
cient man  power.  The  child  of  today  will  be  the  man  of  to- 
morrow, and  the  future  will  depend  entirely  upon  the  qualifi- 
cations of  the  child  of  today. 

While  the  writer  was  engaged  in  the  work  of  finding  jobs  for 
older  men,  a  number  of  cripples  appearel  to  him  for  assistance. 
He  had  always  felt  that  the  greatest  charity  was  preventing  a 
man  from  accepting  it,  by  making  it  unnecessary.  Therefore 
when  this  "cripple"  proposition  was  presented  to  him,  he  de- 
voted considerable  study  to  it,  and  upon  investigating  some 
of  the  crippled  people,  he  realized  how  anxious  they  were  to 
find  employment  and  to  maintain  their  self-respect,  instead  of 
accepting  charity  from  others.  He  found  that  it  was  just  be- 
cause people  were  unwilling  to  give  the  cripple  a  chance  to 
work  that  he  was  in  this  helpless  condition  of  unproductivity 
and  was  obliged  to  accept  charity  to  hold  body  and  soul 
together. 

The  writer  found  many  of  these  people  sufficiently  strong 
and  active,  despite  the  fact  that  they  were  crippled,  alert  in 
mind  and  body,  and  particularly  anxious  to  find  work  so  that 
they  might  demonstrate  that  they  could  make  good. 

He  then  made  an  announcement  in  the  newspapers  that 
crippled  people  seeking  jobs  could  make  application  to  the 
bureau,  which  he  had  founded,  and  in  a  short  time  over  a 
thousand  applications  from  cripples  were  handed  in. 

Then  the  work  of  placing  them  in  jobs  was  begun.  At  first 
it  was  a  little  difficult.     Finally,  employers  were  made  to  see 

[28] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

that  there  were  many  places  where  a  cripple  could  be  fitted  in 
and  where  he  would  give  as  efficient  service  for  the  work  that  was 
required  as  a  man  not  so  handicapped.  Up  to  the  present  time, 
more  than  1,000  crippled  people  have  been  put  to  work  in  Chi- 
cago alone,  and  so  far  as  known,  all  of  them  have  made  good 
and  are  now  taking  their  places  in  the  economic  life  of  this  na- 
tion, having  relieved  active  men  for  war  work.  Too  much 
credit  for  the  placing  of  these  unfortunates  in  employment 
cannot  be  given  to  Mr.  Fred  Rawitser,  who  formally  took  charge 
of  this  work,  giving  all  of  his  time  to  it  without  compensation. 

Today  it  is  a  common  thing  to  see  a  cripple  at  work,  and  in 
some  places  a  large  number  are  being  employed,  and  are  giving 
satisfactory  service.  These  cripples  are  not  only  supporting 
themselves  now,  but  recontributing  their  money  toward  the 
support  of  the  war. 

In  the  city  of  Washington,  in  one  large  building  operating 
five  passenger  elevators,  three  of  the  operators,  the  writer 
noticed,  were  cripples.  In  a  hotel  in  Washington,  where  he 
stopped,  both  elevator  operators  were  cripples,  and  as  far  as 
he  could  see,  they  were  rendering  just  as  satisfactory  service, 
as  that  rendered  by  physically  able-bodied  people.  As  ex- 
plained above,  the  U.  S.  Government  has  also  taken  over  this 
work  of  finding  employment  for  cripples. 

The  writer  recently  returned  from  a  visit  to  the  govern- 
ment's Walter  Reed  Reclamation  Hospital,  outside  of  Wash- 
ington. In  this  hospital  were  about  1,000  of  our  returned  sol- 
diers who  had  been  injured  in  the  defense  of  their  country. 
Some  of  these  unfortunate  men  were  legless,  some  armless, 
some  with  one  leg  and  one  arm,  others  with  injuries  that  inca- 
pacitated them  for  active  service  and  they  had  been  returned  to 
this  country.  The  United  States,  rising  splendidly  to  the  oc- 
casion, is  fast  reclaiming  these  brave  men,  and  the  records 
show  that  out  of  the  first  516  cases  treated,  134  were  able  to 

[24] 


"A  MAN'S  A  MAN  FOR  A'  THAT" 

return  to  full  military  duty,  only  12  were  regarded  as  help- 
less or  institutional  cases,  and  the  balance  will  be,  if  they  have 
not  already  been  reclaimed,  so  that  they  will  be  fit  for  at  least 
limited  service,  and  many  of  them  will  be  able  to  return  to  their 
former  occupations,  earning  as  much  money,  or  more,  than 
they  earned  before  they  went  to  war. 

This  is  due,  first  of  all,  to  the  splendid  restorative  work  of 
this  and  other  hospitals  that  are  already,  and  will  be  established 
by  the  United  States  Government,  two  in  our  own  district,  the 
War  and  Naval  Hospital  at  Fort  Sheridan,  and  the  Cooper 
Monatah  at  47th  and  Drexel  av.,  Chicago.  The  maximum  resto- 
ration of  the  functions  of  the  body  is  what  is  aimed  at  in  every 
case.  Mechanical  and  therapeutic  treatment  is  given  to  these 
men.  Those  who  were  not  well  educated  before  the  war  are 
now  being  educated  while  in  the  hospital.  They  are  taught  book- 
keeping, shorthand,  salesmanship,  civics,  business  English, 
commercial  arithmetic,  commercial  law,  spelling,  and  penman- 
ship, and  besides,  they  are  given  vocational  instruction  in  farm 
work,  automobile  repairing  and  assembling,  carpet  weaving, 
printing,  broom  making,  wood  work,  sign  painting,  architec- 
tural designing,  mechanical  and  steam  engineering,  gardening, 
and  other  activities. 

If  a  soldier  has  lost  his  right  arm  he  is  immediately  taught 
to  use  his  left.  Where  there  is  muscular  action  in  the  part  of 
the  arm  still  left,  many  of  the  soldiers  are  able  to  move  the 
fingers  of  the  artificial  hand,  picking  up  objects  with  ease.  This 
work  is  done  through  easy  stages.  It  is  started  at  the  bedside 
of  the  soldier  and  continued  until  he  returns  to  active  work. 
The  speed  with  which  they  become  accustomed  to  false  limbs  is 
amazing.  I  saw  one  soldier  after  another,  each  with  an  artificial 
leg,  walking  with  the  aid  of  a  cane,  but  walking  so  well  that 
he  could  almost  throw  the  cane  away.    In  fact  I  could  not  be- 

[25] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

lieve  that  the  leg  was  an  artificial  one,  until  the  soldier  struck 
it  with  his  cane. 

The  statistics  of  foreign  countries  show  that  95%  of  the 
wounded  are  restored  to  active  life,  and  in  a  hospital  for  the 
blind  in  London,  out  of  over  500  blind,  450  have  been  re-edu- 
cated and  today  have  a  greater  earning  power  than  they  had 
with  normal  sight. 

The  government  intends  opening  15  of  these  reclamation 
hospitals,  and  it  will  be  demonstrated  beyond  doubt  that  but 
a  small  percentage  of  crippled  people  cannot  be  re-educated  up 
to  their  former  usefulness.  I  shall  therefore  urge  the  govern- 
ment, and  I  hope  the  readers  of  this  book  will  help  me  to  bring 
it  about,  not  only  to  reclaim  soldiers  who  have  been  crippled, 
but  that  all  civilians  as  well,  who  have  been  injured  in  indus- 
trial life,  or  in  any  way  whatever,  be  given  the  same  treatment 
that  the  soldiers  receive.  There  are  hundreds  of  men  walking 
with  crutches  and  on  stumps  who  could  be  treated  in  a  reclama- 
tion hospital  and  in  a  very  short  time  be  able  to  throw  away 
the  crutches  and  forget  the  stumps  by  substituting  an  artifi- 
cial limb,  and  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  perceive  that  the 
person  was  crippled. 

It  makes  a  big  difference  whether  a  man  walks  with  a  crutch 
or  with  an  artificial  leg.  In  fact,  his  efficiency  in  his  work  is 
greatly  impaired  when  he  depends  upon  a  crutch,  and  a  man 
who  to  all  appearances  is  not  crippled  has  a  better  chance  of 
securing  a  position.  The  man  power  of  this  country  would  be 
greatly  increased  if  every  cripple  would  have  the  right  to  en- 
ter a  reclamation  hospital  where  treatment  would  be  given  to 
restore  him,  and  the  government  could  be  paid  back  out  of  the 
future  earnings  of  the  person.  Even  if  the  government  treated 
all  of  these  people  without  cost,  it  would  be  a  splendid  invest- 
ment for  the  nation,  and  would  be  of  incalculable  value  to  those 
who  receive  the  treatment. 

[26] 


"A  MAN'S  A  MAN  FOR  A'  THAT' 

My  suggestion  is  that  as  soon  as  a  person  is  injured,  he 
be  taken  to  one  of  these  reclamation  hospitals.  His  own  prac- 
titioner may  attend  him  there  if  it  is  desirable  and  may  control 
the  treatment  administered  at  the  hospital.  In  this  way,  our 
surgeons  and  therapeutists  may  be  aided  immeasurably  as  well, 
through  these  hospitals.  I  venture  the  opinion  that  if  this  were 
done,  the  charities  of  our  nation  would  be  lessened  and  the 
amount  of  money  needed  to  support  the  charities  would  be 
much  less  and  thousands  of  people  would  be  made  happier. 


[27] 


CHAPTER  V 
COLORED  POPULATION 

In  the  larger  cities,  there  is,  as  a  rule,  a  great  influx  of 
colored  citizens  from  time  to  time.  The  colored  man  generally 
prefers  urban  life  to  country  life,  and  so  you  find  him  in  large 
numbers  in  the  larger  urban  centers.  Unfortunately  a  preju- 
dice against  people  of  his  race  has  compelled  him  to  live  in  a 
prescribed  district,  and  in  this  district  we  generally  find  the 
worst  housing  conditions.  There  are  many  houses  that  have 
been  abandoned  by  white  people  because  they  are  unfit  for 
human  beings  to  live  in,  and  when  the  landlord  finds  that  he 
cannot  get  white  people  to  occupy  them,  he  rents  to  colored 
people,  usually  at  high  prices.  Then  other  white  people  de- 
sert the  neighborhood,  and  more  colored  people  come  in.  In  a 
short  time,  there  develops  what  is  known  as  "the  black  belt." 
The  owner  allows  the  property  to  run  down,  because  he  thinks 
anything  is  good  enough  for  a  colored  man  to  live  in.  The  re- 
sult is,  that  housing  conditions  become  worse  and  worse,  and  the 
colored  man  is  asked  to  live  decently  and  keep  clean  when  all  the 
conditions  are  against  him. 

I  urge  a  most  careful  inspection  by  the  proper  authorities, 
of  every  house,  tenement,  or  apartment,  wherever  situated, 
where  there  is  the  slightest  suspicion  of  poor  living  conditions, 
and  that  an  insistent  demand  be  made  to  compel  the  owners  of 
these  properties  to  provide  proper  sanitar}'  conditions  through- 
out, and  if  the  owner  refuses,  the  property  to  be  condemned. 
If  you  will  improve  the  housing  conditions  of  the  colored  man, 
you  will  improve  his  efficiency  materially,  just  as  has  been  out- 

[28] 


COLORED  POPULATION 

lined  in  a  previous  chapter  with  respect  to  the  housing  of  the 
white  man.  It  is  of  equal  importance.  All  unsightly  tene- 
ments and  shanties  should  be  condemned  and  torn  down,  and 
gradually  replaced  with  decent  dwelling  places,  not  merely 
living  places,  with  here  and  there  a  small  park  for  the  children 
to  play  in.  If  this  were  done,  we  would  have  the  begimiing  of 
a  solution  of  the  housing  problem  and  the  making  of  happy, 
contented  wage  earning  people,  black  or  white. 

When  you  improve  the  efficiency  of  the  colored  man,  you 
give  him  what  is  liis  right,  the  right  to  live  decently,  the  right 
to  advance  himself  according  to  his  merit,  and  the  right  to  be- 
come a  useful  citizen  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  You 
ask  him  to  die  for  you  and  he  goes  forth  willingly  and  takes  his 
place  in  the  ranks  of  the  soldiers,  beside  the  white  man — then  in 
the  name  of  humanity,  give  him  a  chance  to  live  as  well  as  to 
die.  If  you  will  not  do  it  in  the  name  of  humanity,  then  do  it 
in  the  name  of  economy,  for  it  is  an  economical  essential,  that 
everybody  who  can  produce  be  given  every  opportunity  to  pro- 
duce the  best  that  he  can,  and  as  a  working  man  cannot  work 
well  with  poor  tools,  so  you  cannot  expect  the  colored  man  to  be 
efficient  if  you  do  not  give  him  the  essentials  of  decent  living. 
He  does  not  ask  you  to  take  him  into  3'our  home  and  entertain 
him, — you  have  a  right  to  select  your  social  acquaintances, — 
but  he  does  ask  that  he  be  given  the  right  to  live  respectably 
and  comfortably  and  not  be  discriminated  against  in  his  labor. 

The  writer  is  now  making  an  experiment  in  an  effort  to 
break  down  the  prejudice  against  the  cmplo^^ment  of  colored 
people  in  any  but  menial  service.  He  is  endeavoring  at  this 
time  to  find  employment  for  nearly  a  thousand  young  colored 
girls  between  the  ages  of  16  and  21 — girls  who  arc  well  edu- 
cated, who  are  refined,  and  would  give  employers  faithful  and 
efficient  service  in  clerical,  office,  or  light  manufacturing  em- 
ployment, and  he  hopes  that  this  book  will  be  widely  read,  if 

[29] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

for  no  other  reason  than  that  it  will  bring  to  the  attention  of 
his  readers  the  fact  that  we  have  thousands  of  young  colored 
women  who  possess  splendid  qualifications,  some  of  them  even 
with  college  or  university  education,  who  are  clamoring  for  an 
opportunity  to  serve  in  higher  employment,  and  he  hopes  and 
prays  that  these  unfortunate  but  deserving  people  will  be 
given  every  chance  to  better  their  condition. 

We  are  "our  brother's  keeper,"  and  the  sooner  we  realize 
that,  and  the  sooner  we  realize  that  race,  creed,  and  color  do 
not  make  a  jot  of  difference,  that  a  man  stands  or  falls  by  vir- 
tue of  his  character,  and  tliat  character,  after  all,  is  the  test, 
the  sooner  will  we  make  life  happier,  not  only  for  others,  but  for 
ourselves. 


[80] 


CHAPTER  VI 
WHAT  IS  A  LIVING  WAGE? 

For  years  capital  has  asked  this  question,  and  from  time  to 
time  labor  has  tried  to  answer  it,  but  at  this  date  they  are  as 
far  apart  as  the  poles.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  they  are 
working  from  entirely  different  viewpoints.  Capital  has  tried 
to  make  all  the  money  it  could  on  its  investment,  and  labor  has 
tried  to  secure  all  the  wages  it  could  without  regard  to  what 
constituted  a  living  wage.  Until  some  properly  constituted 
authority,  after  making  a  most  careful  investigation,  can  de- 
termine the  actual  cost  of  living  in  different  communities,  and 
under  different  circumstances,  this  question  will  remain  un- 
answered, and  the  breach  between  capital  and  labor,  which  is 
widening  because  of  misunderstandings,  will  continue  to  widen 
until  it  is  too  late  to  adjust  conditions  so  that  a  happier  and 
more  equitable  basis  for  both  can  be  reached. 

This  matter  is  now  being  carefully  considered.  It  appears 
that  one  objection  raised  to  his  plan,  (which  the  writer  had  in 
mind  months  before  this  project  was  considered  by  the  gov- 
ernment) is,  that  it  would  stabiKze  wages  in  such  a  way  that 
every  employe  would  receive  the  same  wage,  irrespective  of  his 
ability.  The  writer  has  no  intention  of  advocating  such  a 
condition,  but  he  would  like  to  see  a  minimum  wage  established, 
a  minimum  wage  sufficient  for  the  ordinary  workman  and  his 
family  to  live  upon,  leaving  him  something  to  provide  for  ad- 
verse conditions  which  might  arise,  or  as  a  provision  against  old 
age. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  many  of  the  demands  of  labor  are 
just  and  also  that  many  are  unjust,  but  whatever  the  demands, 

[31] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

just  or  unjust,  as  a  rule  thej  are  made  without  consideration 
of  what  constitutes  a  living  wage.  They  are  based,  in  a  large 
measure,  upon  whether  or  not  labor  is  strong  enough  to  enforce 
its  demands.  Capital,  realizing  labor's  position  in  this  matter, 
prepares  to  resist  its  demands,  and  if  it  finds  it  has  sufficient 
strength  to  defeat  them,  even  though  the  demands  ma^'  be  just, 
in  some  cases  refuses  them.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  capital  be- 
lieves that  whether  or  not  the  demands  of  labor  are  unjust,  but 
that  labor  nevertheless  has  inlluence  and  strength  enough  to 
enforce  its  demands,  it  then  yields,  and  the  breach,  instead  of 
being  healed,  is  widened,  and  capital  waits  for  an  opportunity 
when  it  may  get  even  and  reduce  wages.  Labor,  knowing  that 
capital  has  yielded  only  because  compelled  to  do  so,  strength- 
ens its  forces,  ready  to  defend  itself  against  future  onslaughts 
of  capital,  or  to  make  even  greater  demands,  because  it  has  been 
successful  in  the  former  action. 

This  is  the  condition  that  confronts  the  nation  today. 
Even  as  we  were  unprepared  for  the  present  war,  because  we 
did  not  believe  that  we  would  ever  become  involved  in  it,  so  we 
are  unprepared  for  an  even  greater  uprising,  which  is  bound 
to  come  sooner  or  later,  with  terrific  force,  unless  the  powers 
representing  capital  and  labor  come  to  a  better  understanding 
with  each  other.  This  understanding  will  never  be  reached  on 
the  basis  of  compromise,  or  on  the  basis  of  the  weaker  yielding 
to  the  stronger.  It  will  only  be  reached  when  justice  is  meted 
out  to  both  capital  and  labor. 

Capital,  if  it  were  asked  the  question  tomorrow,  whether 
it  is  paj'ing  a  sufficient  wage  to  labor,  would  undoubtedly 
answer  that  it  is.  Ask  the  same  question  of  labor  and  it  would 
undoubtedly  answer  that  capital  is  not  doing  so.  Thinking 
people  must  see  that  where  such  a  condition  exists,  so  wide  a 
breach  can  never  be  bridged  except  upon  the  one  basis  of  an 

[32] 


WHAT  IS  A  LIVING  WAGE? 

honest,  just,  and  fair  consideration  for  the  rights  of  both 
sides. 

It  is  folly  to  argue  that  capital  can  get  along  without  labor, 
just  as  it  is  folly  to  argue  that  labor  can  get  along  without 
capital.  It  is  folly  to  argue  that  labor  should  receive  as  large  a 
share  of  profits  as  capital,  for  the  reason  that  capital  takes 
all  the  chances  of  a  loss  which  labor  does  not  take,  and  labor  is 
reasonably  assured,  under  the  law,  that  its  services  will  be  paid. 
Capital  takes  all  the  chances  of  operating  a  business  and  is  not 
sure  that  its  product  will  be  paid  for  even,  after  the  necessary- 
outlay  for  labor  and  cost  of  the  raw  material. 

On  the  other  hand,  labor  has  the  right  to  ask  that  it  be 
paid,  in  addition  to  a  living  wage,  a  sufficient  amount  to  enable 
it  to  live,  if  not  in  ease,  at  least  above  want  in  years  to  come, 
when  the  workingman  is  not  able  to  keep  up  his  present  produc- 
tion on  account  of  advancing  age  or  other  infiimity.  There  is 
always  the  uncertainty  of  sickness,  of  accident,  and  of  unem- 
ployment, so  that  it  is  only  fair  and  just  that  labor  should  de- 
mand— it  ought  to  receive  without  finding  it  necessary  to  make 
such  demand — a  safe  percentage  above  a  living  wage  to  take 
care  of  untoward  happenings,  and  besides,  labor  ought  to  par- 
ticipate to  some  extent  in  the  profits  that  it  helps  to  create. 

Capital  may  contend  that  labor  is  thriftless  and  shiftless ; 
that  if  it  were  not,  every  employe  would  be  able  to  save  money. 
Even  granting  that  some  are  improvident,  it  behooves  those 
who,  by  education  and  environment  have  had  the  opportunity 
to  see  the  weakness  of  labor,  to  help  it  safeguard  itself  against 
shiftlessness  and  thriftlessness.  It  can  do  that  through  cam- 
paigns of  education  and  through  welfare  bureaus  organized  in 
the  different  industrial  and  commercial  centers  where  labor  is 
employed. 

What  constitutes  a  living  wage  may  appear  at  first  blush 
unascertainable  and  the  writer  admits  that  it  is  not  an  easy  task 

[33] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

to  assemble  the  necessary  facts  so  that  a  proper  wage  can  be 
agreed  upon,  for  a  thousand  and  one  ditierent  conditions  touch- 
ing on  this  point  exist  in  the  life  of  the  working  man  or  woman. 

A  woman,  for  example,  may  be  living  at  home  with  her 
parents,  paying  no  board.  Naturally  her  idea  of  a  living  wage 
would  be  sufficient  on  which  to  dress  well  and  amuse  herself. 
This  type  of  woman  is  often  willing  to  work  for  a  lower  wage 
than  her  more  necessitous  sister,  because  she  can  maintain 
herself  on  less  than  a  woman  who  is  wholly  self-supporting  and 
has  no  means  of  hvelihood  aside  from  what  she  earns  through 
her  labor,  and  who  is  forced  by  the  law  of  supply  and  demand 
to  accept  a  wage  comparable  to  that  which  the  woman  who  lives 
at  home  is  willing  to  accept.  The  result  is,  that  the  woman  sup- 
porting herself  is  forced  to  be  content  with  less  than  a  bare 
living.  If  she  becomes  ill  she  loses  not  only  her  wages,  in  ad- 
dition she  has  a  doctor's  biU  to  pay.  When  she  recovers  she  is 
hopelessly  in  debt,  because  her  earnings  were  just  sufficient  to 
maintain  her,  with  no  margin  of  safety  over  her  wages,  no  sur- 
plus that  she  should  have  earned  and  saved  to  provide  for  just 
such  a  contingency.  The  result  is  hopeless  despair,  greater 
sickness,  perhaps,  from  worry,  prostitution,  suicide  or  some 
other  means  in  order  to  end  it  aU  or  to  make  both  ends  meet, — 
and  then  we  wonder  why  young  women  kill  themselves  or  go 
wrong. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  only  fair  way  to  meet  this  issue 
is  for  a  committee  to  investigate,  say  a  hundred  cases  of  young 
women,  in  each  Industry,  who  are  self-supporting,  and  ascer- 
tain exactly  how  they  live,  how  their  wages  are  spent,  and 
what  is  left:  then,  taking,  possibly,  the  average  expenditures 
of  these  hundred  women  (assuming,  of  course,  they  are  selected 
from  practically  the  same  class  of  wage  earners),  and  add  to 
that  amount  say  26%  as  a  fair  margin  of  safety.  In  other 
words,  if  a  young  woman  living  alone  spends  $10.00,  and  the 

[84.] 


WHAT  IS  A  LIVING  WAGE? 

committee  believes  that  is  a  fair  amount  for  this  young  woman 
with  which  to  support  herself  properly,  there  should  then  be 
added  to  that  wage  $2.50  a  week,  or  25%,  making  $12.50, 
which  ought  to  be  the  minimn/m  wage  that  any  woman  that  has 
all  her  faculties  should  be  permitted  to  work  for.  Of  course, 
this  is  just  a  hypothetical  case. 

If  such  a  law  were  in  force  and  every  woman  employe,  un- 
der proper  living  conditions,  were  paid  a  minimum  of  25% 
over  and  above  a  mere  living  wage,  no  one  would  be  injured,  capi- 
tal would  feel  that  it  had  done  its  share  and  labor  would  feel 
that  it  had  been  fairly  treated. 

It  might  be  necessary,  before  such  a  plan  could  be  properly 
worked  out,  that  an  international  conference  be  held  as  soon 
as  possible, — even  when  the  nations  sit  around  the  confer- 
ence table  to  discuss  peace  terms, — and  at  that  conference, 
if  for  no  other  reason  than  that  the  world  has  suffered  so  much 
already  from  the  effects  of  this  war,  it  ought  now  to  be  spared 
any  economic  suffering,  some  basis  of  a  li\ang  wage  should  be 
fixed  by  international  agreement.  Of  course,  where  the  cost  of 
living  is  cheaper,  as  in  some  countries  and  communities,  natur- 
ally the  living  wage  would  be  less,  but  if  it  were  possible  to  agree 
upon  a  minimum  basic  wage  for  both  men  and  women  in  all  coun- 
tries, then  capital  throughout  the  world  would  be  able  to  fix  the 
price  on  its  commodity,  because  it  would  be  familiar  with  the 
wage  scale  of  other  countries  and  would  know  that  nothing  less 
than  the  minimum  wage  would  be  paid. 

No  nation  should  be  permitted  to  impoverish  its  people  and 
compel  them  to  work  for  a  wage  below  the  amount  sufficient  to 
properly  support  them,  leaving  a  margin  for  safety.  It  costs 
money  to  maintain  jails  and  hospitals  and  insane  asylums,  and 
if  some  of  this  money  were  paid  to  labor,  a  great  many  of  these 
institutions  could  be  dispensed  with,  and  the  world  would  be, 
in  fact,  a  "decent  place  to  live  In." 

[35] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

The  writer  believes  that  good  Avages  mean  good  times. 
There  is  no  record  of  times  being  good  when  wages  were  low, 
and  no  one  will  dispute  the  fact  that  the  well-paid  employe  is 
surely  the  better  emplo^^e  and  a  better  investment  economically 
than  a  poorly-paid,  sickly,  and  impoverished  worker. 

When  we  sit  around  the  peace  table,  it  is  of  vital  importaiice 
that  this  question  be  carefully  considered,  for  when  we  make 
peace  this  time,  let  us  keep  it  forever,  and  not  only  peace  be- 
tween nations,  but  peace  within  each  nation, — a  peace  within 
and  without. 

Of  course  this  is  only  a  thought.  However,  something 
along  this  line  would  relieve  the  conscience  of  every  employer, 
because  he  would  feel  that  every  emplo3^e  was  properly  pro- 
vided for  in  the  event  of  illness  or  unemployment,  or  some  other 
unforeseen  and  unprovided-for  contingenc3^  Labor  would 
work  with  greater  zest,  with  greater  ambition,  because  it  would 
realize  that  this  additional  compensation  which  he  would  receive 
would  be  used  only  in  case  of  some  unlooked-for  contingency, 
and  if  it  were  not  exhausted  when  the  employe's  earning  power 
lessened,  there  should  be  enough  money  put  aside  to  at  least  as- 
sure the  emplo^'e  that  he  or  she  need  not  worry  about  his  or  her 
declining  years.  With  such  a  plan,  the  writer  is  confident  the 
production  of  labor  would  increase  materially. 

We  know  that  our  soldiers  fight  so  well  because  they  are  not 
worried, — because  we  have  assured  them  that  in  case  they  fall 
or  are  injured,  they  will  be  carefully  nursed  and  restored  to 
health;  they  will  be  reclaimed  as  far  as  human  ingenuity  can 
reclaim  them.  They  also  know  that  if  they  should  pass  the  di- 
vide those  who  are  dear  to  tliem  and  who  are  left  behind  Avill  be 
cared  for  by  their  country.  This  is  one  reason  why  they  fight 
so  valiantly  and  why  their  morale  is  of  such  a  high  standard. 
The  same  argument  would  certainly  apply  to  the  worker, — an 

.        [36] 


WHAT  IS  A  LIVING  WAGE? 

employe  who  is  constantly  worried  cannot  render  eflScient 
service. 

With  the  male  employe  we  should  not  be  confronted  with 
the  same  conditions  we  meet  in  the  case  of  the  female  employe, 
because  the  male  employe,  when  he  starts  out  to  work,  en- 
deavors to  make  himself  self-supporting  as  soon  as  possible  and 
does  not  depend  upon  his  family  for  support.  Therefore  he 
does  not  compete  with  a  class  of  men  who  are  working  onl}'  to 
get  more  spending  money.  So,  in  the  case  of  the  male  em- 
ploye, the  question  that  must  be  solved  first  of  all,  is : 
What  constitutes  a  living  wage.''  After  that  is  solved  labor 
must  be  graded  according  to  its  productivity  and  earning 
power  for  the  employer.  The  employe  who  earns  most  for  his 
employer  naturally  should  be  compensated  with  a  larger  pro- 
portion than  the  laborer  who  performs  only  ordinary  manual 
labor,  is  willing  to  remain  at  that  class  of  work,  and  does  not 
strive  to  improve  himself  or  his  circumstances. 

There  is  another  condition.  Some  laboring  men  are  single, 
and  some  are  married.  The  single  laboring  man  naturally 
does  not  require  as  much  as  the  married  laboring  man.  For 
that  reason,  he  may  be  willing  to  sell  his  labor  for  less  than 
the  married  man  with  a  family.  Here  again  we  meet  with  a 
condition  that  at  first  blush  appears  almost  irreconcilable. 
Yet  the  writer  maintains,  if  capital  and  labor  would  go  into 
this  vexing  question  with  but  one  thought  in  mind,  to  do  what 
is  fair  and  square,  its  solution  would  be  b}'  no  means  impossible. 

In  the  first  place,  however,  we  must  again  refer  to  our 
original  question :  What  is  a  living  wage.''  That  is  to  be  ascer- 
tained first  of  all  by  finding  out — and  it  is  not  difficult  to  do  so 
— what  is  properly  required  to  keep  a  single  man,  how  much 
more  is  required  to  keep  a  married  man,  without  famil}',  how 
much  additional  is  required  to  maintain  each  additional  child. 
These  figures  are  obtainable  at  first  hand,  if  the  properly  con- 

[37] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

stituted  authorities  will  make  an  investigation  and  ascertain 
the  cost  of  living  under  the  conditions  of  the  different  types 
of  employes  at  that  time. 

Of  course,  I  do  not  maintain  for  a  moment  that  the  em- 
ployer can  take  into  consideration  whether  an  employe  is  mar- 
ried or  whether  he  has  one,  two,  three,  or  half  a  dozen  children, 
but  it  can  be  ascertained,  without  doubt,  what  is  a  living  wage 
for  a  single  man;  to  this  can  be  added  25%  to  provide  for  un- 
employment, sickness,  or  other  misfortune — if  that  is  a  proper 
amount  to  cover  such  misfortune, — we  then  have  the  assurance 
that  an  ordinary/  worker,  in  his  trade,  is  entitled  to  receive  a 
certain  wage  as  a  minimum,  with  a  sufficient  margin  added  for 
contingencies,  and  this  ascertained  minimum  wage,  properly 
conserved,  would  take  care  of  him  during  his  working  period 
and  pay  a  premium  on  insurance  to  insure  independence  during 
his  declining  years. 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  single  man  can  live  on 
less  money  than  a  married  man  with  children,  but  the  minimum 
wage  of  the  single  man,  to  which  the  25  per  cent  is  added, 
would  be  enough,  in  all  probability,  to  take  care  of  the 
married  man,  at  least  the  married  man  without  children.  We 
must  remember,  too,  that  the  properly  constituted  single  man 
has  well  defined  plans  looking  toward  the  assumption  of  family 
duties  and  is  making  provision  therefor,  and  of  course,  will  not 
be  satisfied  very  long  with  the  minimum  wage. 

In  the  first  place,  a  married  man  with  a  provident  wife  will 
probably  live  as  economically  as  the  single  man  who  spends 
considerable  money  on  amusements  and  luxuries,  which  the 
married  man  must  forego  until  he  can  afford  it.  The  married 
man  also,  having  a  prospective  family,  in  my  opinion  is  a 
more  efficient  workman  and  will  soon  pass  the  single  man  so 
that  he  ought  to  be  able  to  earn  considerably  more  than  the  sin- 
gle man,  for  while  the  single  man  may  be  satisfied  to  stay  at 

[88] 


WHAT  IS  A  LIVING  WAGE? 

the  lowest  living  wage,  the  married  man  will  rise  above  it  and, 
of  course,  will  earn  considerably  more  than  the  minimum  wage. 

The  question  of  the  care  of  the  wife  and  children  is  another 
problem  that  will  confront  the  nation.  This  question  might 
well  be  covered  by  compulsory  insurance,  unemployment  and  old 
age  pension  systems,  whereby  every  married  man  whose  wife  is 
dependent  upon  him  would  be  compelled  to  pay  a  certain 
amount  of  his  wages  toward  a  fund  to  which  the  employer  and 
the  state  would  contribute  a  part  as  well,  and  a  certain  amount 
in  addition  for  each  child,  which  amount  should  be  paid  for  the 
support  of  the  child  in  the  event  of  the  death  or  the  total  or 
partial  disability  of  the  father  until  the  child  had  reached  the 
age  say,  of  18  years — and  because  this  insurance  premium 
would  be  infinitesimally  small,  I  am  satisfied  no  right-thinking 
man  would  hesitate  to  contribute  toward  it,  for  in  the  first  place 
he  would  be  paid  the  minimum  wage  that  a  single  man  receives 
and  in  addition  would  receive  an  extra  compensation  of  25% 
to  cover  any  contingency.  He  ought  to  produce  more  than  the 
average  single  man  and  hence  possess  a  greater  earning  ca- 
pacity, so  in  addition  to  that,  if  insured,  his  famil}'-  would 
receive,  during  his  sickness,  at  least,  some  compensation  toward 
which  he  had  contributed  his  share. 

In  the  event  of  his  death,  his  family,  his  wife,  and  each  child, 
would  receive  the  sum  for  which  his  life  was  insured.  The 
amount  that  the  employer  should  contribute  toward  such  a  fund 
would,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  be  much  less  than  the  amount  he 
now  contributes  for  the  support  of  penitentiaries,  hospitals,  in- 
sane asylums,  and  other  public  institutions,  which  owe  their 
existence  in  large  measure  to  unemployment,  and  to  the  fact 
that  the  employe  was  not  paid  enough  money  when  employed, 
and  then  drifted  into  these  institutions,  or  was  swallowed  up 
by  the  grave.  Meanwhile  th^  tax  payer  is  assessed  heavily  to 
support  all  these  public  institutions,  and  gets  nothing  in  re- 

[89] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

turn,  whereas,  if  he  contributed  that  amount  of  money  to  an  in- 
surance fund  for  his  dependent  employes,  the  worker  would 
undoubtedly  render  better  service  during  the  term  of  his  em- 
ployment and  the  employer  would  get  back  the  small  amount 
that  he  contributed  through  this  larger  and  better  service.  The 
amount  that  the  state  would  be  pledged  to  pay  annually  in 
support  of  these  institutions,  which  money  comes  from  the  tax 
payers  of  the  community,  would  be  saved,  to  a  large  extent,  and, 
what  is  more  important  than  all  else,  man,  the  noblest  work  of 
God,  would  come  into  the  heritage  that  has  been  denied  him 
these  many  years.  The  thought  ought  also  to  be  seriously  con- 
sidered, around  the  peace  conference  table,  and  insurance  of 
the  workers  ought  to  be  an  international  question,  not  a  local  or 
national  one. 

Private  employers  have  recognized  for  a  long  time  that  a 
pension  system  for  employes  stimulated  their  loyalty  and  effi- 
ciency ;  perhaps  the  employer  himself  would  be  glad  to  under- 
take the  responsibility  of  insuring,  at  his  own  expense,  the  life 
and  health  of  every  employe  after  a  certain  period  of  service, 
as  an  alternative  to  the  present  system  of  pensioning  an  em- 
ploye for  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  of  service,  as  prevails  in 
a  few  of  our  larger  semi-public  and  private  enterprises.  If 
the  cmplo3'er  would  add  to  that  a  sick  benefit  insurance  and  a 
life  insurance  policy,  it  seems  to  me  that  a  very  low  quotation 
would  be  made  by  insurance  agencies,  or  the  employers  them- 
selves, or  the  state,  with  the  employers,  might  work  out  a  group 
insurance  plan  that  would  be  adopted  at  a  very  minimum  cost. 
This,  however,  ought  to  be  nationalized  so  that  one  employer 
would  not  have  any  advantage  over  another.  If  the  state  had 
a  part  in  this,  then  if  the  employe  left  his  employment,  his 
policy  would  be  transferred  and  taken  up  by  his  next  employer. 
As  an  example  of  co-operative  group  insurance,  the  system 
adopted  by  the  International  Typographical  Union  is  of  es- 

[40] 


WHAT  IS  A  LIVING  WAGE? 

p«cial  interest.  There  are  many  suggestions  to  meet  this  much 
mooted  question  of  group  industrial  insurance.  Some  think  that 
labor  unions,  or  the  unionization  of  all  employes,  would  bring 
about  this  result.  Possibly  it  would,  probably  it  would  not. 
From  my  own  personal  observation  and  experience  with  labor 
unions  they  have  done  a  great  deal  of  good  for  working  men,  but 
they  have  done  incalculable  harm  to  some  employers,  and  also 
to  those  employes  who  do  not  belong  to  labor  organizations,  and 
who  do  not,  for  reasons  of  their  own,  care  to  join  such  organiza- 
tions. The  reason  for  that  has  already  been  outlined  in  these 
pages.  Their  demands  are  seldom,  if  ever,  based  upon  what 
constitutes  a  fair  wage  to  be  paid  to  the  employe,  but  they  are 
usually  based  upon  the  strength  of  their  organizations  and 
their  power  to  enforce  their  demands.  The  unions  also  give, — 
and  it  may  be  necessary  from  their  standpoint  to  do  so, — 
entirely  too  much  power  to  their  officers.  A  dishonest  business 
agent, — and  I  have  come  in  contact  with  some, — prostitutes 
his  office  by  forcing  the  employer  to  pay  him  money,  instead  of 
using  his  sacred  trust, — and  it  is  a  sacred  trust, — wholly  in 
the  interest  of  the  union  that  appoints  him  to  this  trust.  It 
has  not  been  an  uncommon  thing,  it  is  alleged,  for  business 
agents,  in  a  year  or  two,  to  have  amassed  independent  fortunes 
through  graft  and  blackmail  which  they  have  inflicted  upon 
emplo3'ers,  who,  rather  than  have  their  businesses  wrecked,  have 
been  forced  to  submit  to  this  form  of  blackmail.  While  there  is 
undoubtedly  an  element  of  truth  in  this  charge,  I  believe  the 
great  majority  of  trade  union  officials  to  be  conscientious  and 
upright. 

So  long,  however,  as  the  employers  of  this  country  are  un- 
willing to  ascertain  what  constitutes  a  proper  living  wage,  and 
pay  no  attention  to  that  living  wage,  and  are  unwilling  to  give 
additional  compensation  in  the  fomi  of  distribution  of  the 
profits  of  the  business,  or  in  some  other  form  sufficient  to  pro- 

[41] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

vide  for  the  proverbial  rainy  day,  so  long  will  we  have  labor 
disturbances  and  tremendous  loss  to  the  property  and  life  and 
wellbeing  of  this  coiintry.  A  labor  disturbance  aifects  not  only 
those  who  are  immediately  concerned,  its  influence  is  felt  in 
every  direction.  Therefore,  a  labor  controversy  between  an 
employer  and  employe  is  not  solely  their  own  affair,  it  becomes 
the  affair  of  the  public  at  large,  and  for  that  reason  the  public 
at  large  ought  to  be  taken  into  consideration  by  the  employer 
and  employe, — that  is  one  thing  that  has  apparently  been  over- 
looked in  all  labor  controversies. 

The  union  wage  earner,  asking  for  an  increase  of  wages, 
apparently  does  not  care  what  happens  to  the  other  fellow,  so 
long  as  he  gets  his  demand,  and  the  employer,  granting  the  in- 
crease, simply  passes  it  on  to  the  public  without  any  regard  as 
to  whether  or  not  it  is  fair  that  the  public  should  pay  this  in- 
crease, and  that  is  the  reason  why,  if  the  question  of  increase  of 
salary  or  wages  is  based  entirely  upon  the  strength  of  the  em- 
ploye or  organization  that  makes  the  demand,  the  settlement  is 
an  unfair  one,  the  public,  who  must  suffer  and  pay  the  price, 
never  having  been  considered  at  all. 

The  living  wage  that  has  been  agreed  upon  should  be  pub- 
lished,— should  be  enforced  by  law.  You  may  say  this  will  in- 
terfere with  private  business.  So  does  war  interfere  with  pri- 
vate business.  The  government  today  shuts  down  a  business 
without  warning,  because  it  is  deemed  best  for  the  public  good  to 
take  this  action.  In  like  manner  the  government  or  its  con- 
stituted officials,  should  be  in  a  position  to  enforce  a  living 
wage,  if  the  employer  is  unwilling  to  pay  it,  even  though  it 
might  result  in  the  confiscation  of  tlie  employer's  business. 
This  living  wage  would  naturally  fluctuate  from  time  to  time,  so 
that  at  least  twice  during  the  year  the  proper  authorities,  who 
have  this  matter  in  charge,  may  make  the  investigation  and  re- 

[42] 


WHAT  IS  A  LIVING  WAGE? 

port,  and  the  living  or  minimum  wage,  based  on  that  report, 
should  be  published  and  enforced. 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  regulates  the  rates 
that  railroads  may  be  empowered  to  make,  and  the  public  must 
pay  that  rate.  Why  not  have  an  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission of  Labor  that  will  regulate  the  minimum  wage  scales 
paid  to  men  and  women,  based  on  a  living  wage,  with,  in  addi- 
tion, a  margin  of  safety.'*  This  commission  can  take  into 
consideration  at  various  times,  what  is  a  living  wage,  and  it 
should  also  consider  the  public  at  large,  if  necessary,  in  arriving 
at  tlie  amount  of  wage  thus  fixed  in  the  various  trades.  This 
being  a  minimum  amount,  it  would  not  be  very  difficult  to  ar- 
rive at,  because  it  would  be  based  upon  the  minimum  cost  of 
decent  living,  not  the  maximum.  There  can  be  no  question  that 
labor,  finding  that  it  can  enforce  its  demands,  will  become  ar- 
rogant, and  capital,  if  it  finds  that  labor  can  succeed  in  en- 
forcing any  demand,  whether  it  be  a  just  or  an  unjust  one, 
naturally  will  become  fearful  and  retrenchment  will  follow,  and 
following  retrenchment  will  come  idleness,  following  idleness 
will  come  drunkenness  and  disorderliness,  and  following  in 
the  wake  of  that  will  come  perhaps  something  even  much  worse, 
perhaps  a  revolution,  for  when  men  become  idle  and  drunken 
and  disorderly,  and  when  they  are  told  by  their  leaders  that 
they  are  being  discriminated  against  and  are  being  ground 
down  by  the  heel  of  capital,  as  we  hear  the  common  expression 
used  quite  frequenti}",  they  become  reckless  and  indifferent  to 
life  or  property,  and  then  it  is  necessary  to  repel  their  actions 
by  force,  and  when  you  use  force  to  repel  another  force  in  the 
same  community,  dire  results  must  inevitably  follow. 


[43] 


CHAPTER  VII 
COLLECTIVE  BARGAINING 

There  is  undoubtedly  a  prejudice  among  certain  employers 
against  labor  unions.  This  prejudice,  as  nearly  as  the  writer 
can  learn,  is  not,  and  never  has  been,  a  prejudice  against  labor 
unions  per  se, — that  is,  the  union  of  employes  for  their  own  bet- 
terment, but  the  prejudice  has  been  directed  against  some  of  the 
leaders,  who,  invested  with  this  great  trust  and  responsibility, 
have  betrayed  the  men  who  have  trusted  them.  Some  of  tJiese 
cases  have  come  under  the  direct  notice  of  the  writer, — he  knows 
whereof  he  speaks, — and  so  long  as  officials  of  labor  unions  use 
their  high  offices  for  the  purpose  of  graft  or  selfishness  so  long 
will  the  prejudice  exist  against  them. 

Labor  unions  themselves  must  meet  this  condition.  They 
must  purge  their  organizations  of  these  blood-sucking  vultures 
who  call  strikes,  or  threaten  the  calling  of  strikes,  unless  they 
are  paid,  and  who  settle  strikes  for  a  consideration  to  them- 
selves. 

The  writer  believes  in  trade  unions,  and  if  he  were  em- 
ploj'ed  in  industry  as  a  worker,  he  would  certainly  be  a  mem- 
ber of  his  trade  union.  They  have  done  a  great  deal  for  their 
fellow  men,  but  tlicy  are  far  from  perfect,  and  their  main  offense 
really  has  been  that  of  selecting,  in  many  cases,  irresponsible, 
immoral  men  for  their  leaders. 

There  should  be  a  law  making  it  a  penitentiary  offense  for 
an  official  of  a  labor  union  to  accept  or  solicit  a  bribe ;  in  fact, 
in  some  states,  there  is  such  a  measure.  Now,  if  there  is  an  ob- 
jection among  certain  employers  against  labor  unions,  on  the 

[44-] 


COLLECTIVE  BARGAINING 

ground  that  they  have  grafting  representatives  in  high  official 
positions,  and  further  on  the  ground  that  these  men  do  not 
represent  the  particular  employes  of  this  particular  employer, 
and  are  unacquainted  with  conditions  affecting  the  particular 
employment  at  this  particular  place,  and  are,  therefore,  in- 
competent to  judge  the  merits  of  the  claims  of  the  employes, 
then  the  employer  should  at  least  be  willing  that  the  employes 
of  his  establishment  form  their  own  protective  union,  and  that 
an  employe,  or  several  employes,  should  represent  them,  and 
that  this  committee  should  be  recognized  by  the  employer  as  the 
representative  of  these  men,  and  be  treated  with  proper  cour- 
tesy. That  when  it  presents  a  request  for  better  working  con- 
ditions, or  higher  wages,  that  request  shall  be  considered  as  the 
request  of  at  least  a  majority  of  the  employes  who  have  voted 
in  advance  that  the  demand  be  made.  They  should  also  have 
the  right  of  collective  bargaining  and  the  employer  who  is  un- 
willing to  concede  that  right  is  an  enemy  to  both  labor  and  capi- 
tal, the  latter  of  which  he  grossly  misrepresents. 

If  the  employer  worked  among  and  with  his  men,  as  he 
used  to  do  in  the  da3's  before  the  industries  became  so  large, — 
when  he  was  acquainted  with  every  man  working  for  him  and 
called  them  all  by  their  given  names, — unions  would  be  un- 
necessary, but  in  this  age  of  centralization  of  responsibility, 
the  employer  seldom  knows  what  is  going  on  amongst  his  em- 
ployes. He  delegates  his  authority  to  a  manager,  or  superin- 
tendent, who,  of  course  is  anxious  to  make  a  showing,  and 
whose  interest  naturally  lies  more  with  the  employer  tlian  with 
the  employes,  so  it  is  quite  natural  that  the  employe  docs  not 
get  the  best  deal  through  this  agency.  It  is  impossible  for  him 
to  go  above  the  superintendent  or  manager  with  his  grievance, 
because  the  employer,  if  he  recognized  the  employe's  side  and 
upheld  him  against  the  superintendent,  nu'ght  just  as  well  get  a 
new  superintendent.     It  is  only  fair  that  the  employe  be  repre- 

[45] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

sented  by  his  trade  union,  or  by  some  employe  or  committee  of 
emploj'es  in  the  establishment,  selected  by  vote  of  his  fellow 
employes. 

The  writer  sees  no  distinction  between  the  superintendent 
of  a  plant  and  the  employes.  It  is  not  his  wish  to  be  misun- 
derstood. He  does  not  maintain  that  the  superintendent 
would  take  advantage  of  his  position  to  compel  labor  to  accept 
bad  working  conditions  or  low  wages,  but  after  all,  the  em- 
ployer looks  at  his  balance  sheet,  and  if  his  superintendent 
does  not  make  a  good  showing  (and  the  superintendent's  wages 
are  governed  in  a  large  measure  by  the  showing  he  makes),  he 
is  called  to  account.  While  he  ought  to  be  a  big  enough  man  to 
explain  and  understand  that  the  more  contented  the  employe 
is  and  the  better  paid  he  is  the  more  work  he  can  turn  out, 
there  are  many  cases  where  the  superintendent  does  not  look 
at  it  from  that  point  of  view,  whenever  the  employe  does  not 
receive  what  he  conceives  to  be  a  fair  share  of  his  hire. 

The  employer  has  no  right  to  profiteer  at  the  expense  of 
labor,  nor  has  labor  the  right  to  seek  an  exorbitant  wage  for 
the  sole  reason  that  its  organization  is  strong  enough  to  en- 
force the  demand,  and  until  this  situation  is  clearly  understood 
by  both  capital  and  labor  we  will  have  labor  unrest,  and  so 
long  as  we  have  labor  unrest  the  nation  will  sustain  a  tremen- 
dous economic  and  moral  loss. 

From  my  own  personal  observation  and  experience  with  la- 
bor unions,  and  I  have  dealt  with  them  for  a  long  time,  I  am 
convinced  that  they  have  accomplished  a  great  deal  of  good 
for  the  workmen  of  this  country.  They  have  improved  work- 
ing conditions  and  have  helped  to  safeguard  health.  They  have 
increased  the  wage  paid  to  workmen,  and  no  doubt,  have  aided 
many  of  their  fellow  men  through  sick  benefits,  medical  atten- 
tion, and  the  like.  However,  I  wish  labor  unions  would  give 
more  thought  to  that  particular  phase  of  the  economic  sltua- 

[46] 


COLLECTIVE  BARGAINING 

tion.  I  wish  they  could  devise  some  plan  whereby  they  might 
insure  all  members  of  their  organization  against  sickness,  un- 
employment, old  age  and  death,  and  whereby  they  might  give  the 
wives  of  their  members  maternity  insurance  for  a  certain  period 
before  and  after  childbirth.  It  seems  to  me  that  they  are 
better  qualified  to  undertake  this  than  any  other  social  unit. 
If  such  a  situation  were  brought  about,  labor  would  be  greatly 
benefited,  the  membership  of  trade  unions  would  be  largely  aug- 
mented, a  great  deal  of  suffering,  sickness,  and  sorrow  would  be 
alleviated,  and  the  man  power  of  our  nation  greatly  increased. 
In  certain  parts  of  Europe  there  exists  a  form  of  insur- 
ance for  workmen  covering  all  these  disabilities,  whereby  the 
government,  the  employer,  and  the  employe,  each  pays  a  stated 
portion.  There  are  so  many  features  in  connection  with  this 
form  of  insurance  that  I  will  not  burden  the  reader  with  a  dis- 
cussion of  them  here.  However,  some  of  our  states  are  already 
taking  up  this  problem,  and  in  California  there  is  a  proposed 
law,  patterned  somewhat  after  the  European  idea,  which  wiU 
soon  be  voted  on  by  the  people.  For  years  this  subject  has  been 
given  consideration,  and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  some 
form  of  insurance,  covering  the  before-mentioned  disabilities, 
must  be  put  into  effect.  One  can  argue  as  he  pleases  about 
people  living  within  their  means  and  saving  their  money  for 
old  age,  and  one  can  argue  that  people  should  not  lose  their 
jobs,  but  people  will  lose  their  jobs,  will  lose  their  monej-,  will 
get  old,  and  have  no  money  saved  up.  People  will  get  sick  and 
women  will  have  children  when  they  have  not  the  money  to 
bridge  over  the  period  of  maternity.  The  nation  might  just 
as  well  meet  this  issue  now  and  seek  to  work  out  some  plan 
whereby  these  hardships  will  be  reduced,  whereby  the  work- 
man, when  he  is  at  work  and  when  he  is  well  will  be  paying 
some  kind  of  an  insurance  premium  to  some  organization  to 
protect  him  against  himself,  to  protect  him  against  his  careless- 

[47] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

ness  in  not  looking  after  his  own  interests.  Whatever  form 
this  insurance  may  take,  it  must  be  compulsory.  If  the  trade 
organization  insures  its  members,  they  must  make  that  com- 
pulsory feature  one  of  the  conditions  of  his  joining  the  organi- 
zation. Nothing  in  the  way  of  voluntary  insurance  will  meet 
the  issue.  Working  men,  in  most  instances,  will  not  insure 
themselves  unless  something  stronger  than  moral  suasion  is 
used. 

Reverting  to  labor  organizations,  the  trade  unions,  real- 
izing in  most  cases  the  injustice  that  has  been  done  in  the  past 
to  the  employer  by  giving  a  single  official  the  authority  to 
call  a  strike,  have  taken  that  authority  away  from  the'  busi- 
ness agent,  in  Chicago  at  least,  from  the  last  information  I 
have  received.  The  business  agent  now  presents  any  grievance 
he  may  have  against  an  employer  to  a  Grievance  Committee, 
and  this  committee  has  the  right,  under  certain  conditions,  to 
call  a  strike.  Of  course,  if  the  business  agent  dominates  the 
committee,  the  situation  is  nearly  as  bad  as  it  was  before.  In 
my  opinion,  while  some  relief  in  this  situation  is  provided,  at 
least  in  Chicago,  whereby  the  business  agent  has  largely  lost 
the  power  to  call  a  strike,  even  a  temporary  one,  still  the  meas- 
ure of  relief  is  not  satisfactory,  either  to  capital  or  to  the 
general  public,  which  is  most  deeply  concerned.  It  does  not 
fully  meet  the  labor  situation  in  fairness  to  all  concerned, 
although  it  is  a  step  in  advance  of  former  conditions. 

My  thought  is  that,  before  any  strike  may  be  called,  the 
business  agent  should  present  in  writing  to  the  employer  the 
demands  of  the  organization  wliich  he  represents,  and  the 
employer  should  be  given  a  reasonable  length  of  time  in  which 
to  present  his  side  of  the  case,  either  in  person,  by  letter,  or 
through  counsel,  to  a  duly  constituted  meeting  called  by  the 
trade  organization,  at  which  a  committee  of  the  members  of 
the  employers'  organization  should  also  be  invited  to  attend. 

[48] 


COLLECTIVE  BARGAINING 

If  it  is  not  practicable  for  the  members  to  be  invited,  as  in  the 
case  of  a  proposed  general  strike  of  a  large  body  of  men,  then 
the  officers  of  the  organization  should  all  be  present,  or  be  rep- 
resented by  proxies,  and  at  least  a  fixed  percentage  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  organization  should  be  present — five  per  cent,  ten 
per  cent,  or  whatever  the  fixed  percentage  that  might  be  agreed 
upon  is.  They  should  weigh  carefully  the  reasons  given  by  the 
employer  for  his  inability  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  employes, 
and  any  counter  proposition  the  employer  makes  if  he  wishes  to 
make  one.  After  these  reasons  are  given,  the  members  of  the  or- 
ganization should  retire  and  a  vote  should  be  taken,  a  record 
being  kept  of  the  name  of  each  person  present  voting.  If  two- 
thirds  of  those  present,  on  secret  ballot,  vote  for  a  strike,  a  no- 
tice should  be  sent  to  the  workmen  of  that  organization  accom- 
panied by  a  brief  statement  of  both  sides.  This  statement,  of 
course,  should  be  based  on  facts.  If  the  majority  on  the  holding 
of  this  referendum  vote  "yes,"  then,  at  least,  a  strike  will  not 
have  been  called  without  giving  all  sides  a  fair  hearing.  But  even 
in  that  event,  every  trade  union  should  incorporate  in  its  bylaws 
a  clause  to  the  eifect  that  before  a  strike  is  called,  even  though 
it  is  voted  through  a  referendum,  an  employer  should  be  given 
a  certain  length  of  time  in  which  he  may  accede  to  the  demand 
of  the  Union.  Of  course,  some  plan  of  arbitration  may  be 
evolved  that  would  be  better  than  this  plan,  but  my  whole 
thought  is  that  a  strike  should  not  be  called  except  when  every 
honest  effort  has  been  made  by  both  sides  to  get  together.  It 
seems  to  me  that  arbitration  must  sooner  or  later  be  accepted  by 
capital  and  labor  because  strikes  ought  to  be  a  thing  of  the 
past,  just  as  wars  should  no  longer  be  fought  because  one  nation 
tliinks  it  is  stronger  than  the  other  and  so  tries  to  enforce  its 
demands ;  strikes  should  not  be  called  because  one  organization 
thinks  it  is  stronger  than  the  other  and  can  enforce  its  de- 
mands. 

[49] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

Then  there  is  another  matter.  If  there  is  any  one  thing 
that  will  undermine  a  democracy  more  quickly  than  another  it 
is  the  destruction  of  property,  because  capital  will  not  accede 
to  the  demand  of  labor,  or  the  assault  on  individuals  because 
they  have  taken  the  places  the  strikers  vacated.  If  strikes 
could  be  avoided  these  two  latter  conditions,  wliich  are  very 
serious,  would  be  obviated.  Law  and  order  should  be  demanded 
by  labor  as  much  as  by  capital,  for  labor  needs  law  and  order 
as  much  as  does  capital.  Analagous  to  the  above  is  the  care- 
ful obser\-ance  of  ethical  standards  by  the  employes.  If  the 
lives  and  property  of  our  citizens  are  not  safe,  then  the  republic 
is  certainly  in  danger.  A  recognition  of  mutual  rights  and 
respect  for  the  equities  involved  will  work  wonders  in  the  peace- 
ful solutions  of  problems  of  this  nation. 

I  have  said  little  regarding  the  moral  obligations  of  the 
employer  and  the  producer  incumbent  upon  him  during  a  period 
such  as  I  have  described — that  is  covered  in  another  chapter. 


[50] 


CHAPTER  Vni 
THE   NEW  CIVILIZATION 

A  new  civilization  has  been  opened  up  by  this  war,  as  well 
as  a  new  citizenship.  Citizenship  will  no  longer  be  based  upon 
wealth,  or  political  or  social  position,  but  upon  service  and 
sacrifice  during  these  trying  times. 

We  will  be  asked,  now  that  the  war  is  over,  not  who  our 
father  was,  or  what  our  father  did,  but  what  did  we  do  when 
the  civilization,  not  only  of  our  country,  but  the  entire  world, 
hung  in  the  balance.  Not  only  will  we  ask  ourselves  that  ques- 
tion, but  those  millions  of  brave  men  who  have  gone  over  there, 
giving  up  ease  and  comfort,  in  many  cases  remunerative  posi- 
tions, to  take  their  places  in  the  ranks  of  the  defenders  of  this 
country,  ready  and  willing  to  make  even  the  supreme  sacrifice, 
will  also  want  us  to  render  an  accounting  when  they  return. 
The  pages  of  their  history  will  be  filled  with  the  glory  of  their 
achievements.  There  will  also  be  pages  that  we  must  fill,  and 
so  those  of  us  who  are  left  behind  ought  to  take  stock  daily  of 
our  aims  and  our  accomplishments,  and  if  we  find  that  our 
accomplishments  are  negative,  we  would  better  depart  from 
the  error  of  our  ways  and  write  on  these  pages  white  deeds, 
deeds  of  sacrifice,  deeds  of  service,  deeds  of  self-denial,  deeds 
of  efficiency.  If  wc  do  this,  we  too,  will  be  able  to  take  our 
places  in  the  ranks  of  the  heroes, — industrial  heroes,  but  heroes 
none  the  less,  for  wc  who  occupied  places  in  the  second  line 
trenches  were  just  as  necessary  to  the  winning  of  the  war  as 
those  men  in  the  first  line  trenches. 

What  of  these  men  who  fought  for  us  ?  Do  the  readers  of 
this  book  think  for  a  moment  that  the  men  who  are  coming 

[51] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

back  to  us  are  the  same  men  who  went  over  there?  No.  The 
writer  has  had  the  pleasure  of  speaking  with  a  number  of  our 
boj's  directly  before  entrainment  at  the  exemption  board  head- 
quarters, and  bidding  them  Godspeed  and  goodb^'c.  He  has 
visited  these  same  bo^'s  in  the  camps.  One  would  scarcely  recog- 
nize the  boy  as  he  left  his  home  to  go  into  the  training  camp, 
in  the  boy  after  he  was  in  camp  a  few  months.  He  may  have 
been  slouchy  and  hangdog  in  his  appearance,  before  he  left  his 
home,  but  after  a  few  months'  training  he  has  straightened  out. 
He  may  have  been  a  weakling,  but  after  camp  training  he  be- 
came stronger  mentally  and  phj'sically.  He  may  have  been 
unable  to  write  his  name,  as  some  75,000  illiterates  out  of  the 
first  million  were,  but  the  government,  as  soon  as  he  entered 
camp,  started  to  educate  him,  and  when  he  returns  the  proba- 
bility is  that  he  will  not  only  be  able  to  write  his  own  name,  but 
will  be  able  to  read,  spell,  and  add  columns  of  figures.  His 
hand  may  never  ha-ve  touched  a  tool  and  when  he  returns  he 
may  be  a  mechanic  with  the  ability  to  earn  two  or  three  times 
what  he  earned  before  he  went  to  war.  He  may  have  been  a 
puny,  delicate  chap,  but  when  he  returns  he  will  probably  be 
strong,  robust,  and  vigorous,  a  man  anxious  to  do  a  man's  work, 
a  combination  of  brain  and  brawn. 

In  almost  every  metropolis  in  the  country,  the  government 
is  training  these  men.  In  Chicago,  at  the  University,  the  Ar- 
mour Institute,  the  Lewis  Institute,  and  other  places  of  learn- 
ing, the  brains  and  hands  of  the  soldier  are  being  co-ordinated, 
and  when  his  education  is  completed,  he  will  not  be  the  man  he 
was  before  he  entered  the  war.  He  will  not  be  satisfied  with  the 
wages  that  he  earned,  because  he  can  earn  much  more  by  reason 
of  his  increased  efficiency.  No  one  will  deny  this,  therefore  it 
behooves  those  of  us  who  are  left  behind  to  work  out  these  prob- 
lems for  the  men  who  have  gone  over,  so  that  they  may  be  as- 
sured that  when  they  return,  a  place  of  honor  will  be  waiting 

[52] 


THE  NEW  CIVILIZATION 

for  thein,  and  it  will  be  a  place  that  they  can,  by  reason  of  their 
re-education,  properly  fill.  In  addition  to  that,  shall  we  forget 
those  thousands  upon  thousands  of  men  past  middle  life,  you 
might  say,  who  were  discarded  and  scrapped,  up  to  a  few  years 
ago,  unthinkingly  no  doubt,  but  who  since  then  have  been  re- 
turned to  lives  of  useful  service,  men  who  are  making  good? 
Our  soldiers  will  not  want  to  have  them  thrown  on  the  scrap 
heap  again.  What  will  you  do  with  them.'*  The  writer  has 
dealt  with  this  in  a  previous  chapter. 

There  are  also  thousands  of  cripples,  so-called  handicapped 
people.  They  too,  are  making  good.  Must  the}'^  be  thrown 
back  into  the  abyss  of  despair,  after  they  have  done  their  bit 
to  save  our  nation  in  its  time  of  need  ? 

And  then,  those  thousands  of  colored  men  and  women,  well 
educated,  well  trained,  and  efficient,  who  were  released  from 
menial  service,  which  was  the  best  they  could  secure,  and  who 
are  now  employed  in  higher  positions?  They,  too,  are  making 
good.  Must  they  be  relegated  again  to  the  background  by  rea- 
son of  their  color? 

Then  you  have  that  great  army  of  patriotic  women,  ready 
and  anxious  to  undertake  the  heaviest  work  on  the  railroads, 
in  the  lumber  mills,  operating  street  cars, — no  work  too  menial 
for  them  in  their  great  desire  to  do  their  bit.  They  have  be- 
come efficient.  Thej''  are  living  better  than  they  lived  before. 
They  are  earning  money  through  their  own  efforts  and  provid- 
ing themselves  with  necessary  things  which  they  could  not  get 
before  they  became  more  lucratively  employed.  Are  you  going 
to  force  them  out  of  industry,  whether  they  wish  to  go  or  not? 

What  of  those  thousands  of  unfortunate  women?  INIany  of 
them  had  to  sell  their  very  souls  to  keep  life  in  their  bodies  be- 
cause of  the  poor  wage  that  was  paid  to  women  without  experi- 
ence. Their  earning  capacity,  in  industrial  life,  according  to 
the  scale  of  wages  paid,  was  only  $6.00  or  $7.00,  or  possibly 

{5S] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

$8.00  a  week,  not  enough  to  pay  their  board  and  clothing,  car- 
fare, etc.,  consequently  many  of  them  fell  by  the  wayside.  Are 
you  going  to  force  them  to  give  up  their  employment  and  re- 
enter a  life  of  shame,  which  many  of  them  were  so  glad  to  desert? 
Thousands  of  these  women  were  afflicted  with  venereal  diseases, 
and  infected  others.  The  government  spread  a  net  around 
them  and  sent  them  to  isolation  hospitals  and  houses  of  correc- 
tion, where  they  have  been  treated  and  finally  cured,  and  they 
too,  now  have  positions,  and  are  earning  enough  to  support 
themselves  comfortably.  Are  you  going  to  drive  them  back  to 
a  life  of  shame  and  disease,  so  that  they  can  again  infect  thou- 
sands of  men,  women,  and  children  with  this  terrible  scourge.'' 

You  should  not  force  any  of  these  people,  who  have  only 
been  guilty  of  serving  their  country  in  its  hour  of  dire  stress 
to  surrender  their  employment.  Every  man  and  woman,  who 
finds  it  necessary  for  his  maintenance  to  be  employed,  must  be 
permitted  to  remain  in  his  employment  after  the  war.  I  hope 
we  shall  never  again  witness  a  situation  similar  to  the  one  the 
writer  encountered  some  four  years  ago  in  the  dead  of  winter. 
Thousands  upon  thousands  of  able-bodied  men  lying  on  the  bare 
floors  of  the  Salvation  Army  qunrters,  INIunicipal  Lodging 
House,  and  "flop"  houses  in  our  city,  without  a  cent  to  their 
names,  many  of  them  going  to  bed  without  food,  with  hardly 
enough  clothing  to  keep  the  biting  cold  from  freezing  them. 
They  crowded  the  free  lodging  houses,  sleeping  on  the  floors 
when  they  were  not  fortunate  enough  to  get  a  bed.  They  lay 
under  the  beds  with  their  heads  protruding  in  order  to  get  a 
breath  of  fresh  air.  One  had  to  jump  over  their  heads  in  walk- 
ing from  aisle  to  aisle. 

A  survey  of  a  thousand  of  these  men  showed  that  they  were 
on  an  average,  thirty-five  years  old.  That  great  man  power 
absolutely  wasted !  The  city  was  paying  for  the  upkeep  of  these 
lodging  houses,  for  the  bread  and  coffee  which  these  men  re- 

[54] 


THE  NEW  CIVILIZATION 

ceived,  ninety  per  cent  or  more  out  of  employment  through  no 
fault  whatever  of  their  own.     They  were  engaged  in  seasonable 
occupations,  some  of  them  on  the  Great  Lakes,  some  in  cloth- 
mg  hnes,  the  building  trades,  the  wage  scale  they  had  received 
was  not  large  enough  to  tide  them  over  the  period  of  unemi)loy- 
ment,  and  there  they  were  by  the  thousands,  pleading  for  a 
chance  to  work.     That  was  a  hard  winter  for  the  writer,  who 
devoted  most  of  his  time  to  the  finding  of  any  kind  of  employ- 
ment for  these  men  to  keep  body  and  soul  together,  and  thank 
God,  most  of  them  were  given  work ;  many  employers  actually 
created  work  in  order  to  give  them  enough  to  hold  body  and 
soul    together.      What    a   blot   upon    civilization   that   strong, 
healthy,  vigorous  men  should  be  obliged  to  acept  the  bread  of 
charity  through  no  fault  of  theirs !     Do  we  want  to  see  that 
situation  re-enacted  in  our  country?     Because  we  must,  in  any 
event,  see  that  our  brave  soldiers  are  immediately  given  re-em- 
ployment, and  if  there  is  no  employment  for  these  thousands  of 
men  and  women  who  have  filled  their  places  and  who  have  become 
eflficient  in  many  respects,  then  there  is  but  one  place  for  them,— 
the  streets.     I  am  painting  this  picture  because  you  must  see  it 
in  all  its  harrowing  detail  so  that  you  may  realize  the  important 
problem  of  readjustment  that  will  confront  the  nation  and  for 
which  common  sense  must  teach  us  now  to  prepare.    Tomorrow 
may  be  too  late.     We  must  start  today. 

In  the  first  place,  the  government  should  commence  at  once 
to  make  a  survey  of  all  the  proposed  public  and  private  im- 
provements of  every  kind  or  nature  that  have  been  held  in  abey- 
ance by  reason  of  the  war,  whether  it  be  railway  improvement, 
or  private  building  enterprises,  extension  of  public  roads,  no 
matter  what  the  improvement  contemplated  there  should  be  a 
plan  of  tabulating  all  of  this  work  down  to  the  minutest  possi- 
ble improvement.  Then  all  this  work  should  be  reduced  to  quan- 
tities of  material  to  be  kept  separate,  and  then  to  hours  of  time 

[55] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

and  number  of  workmen  required  by  each  particular  branch  of 
the  work  that  will  be  affected. 

Then  the  nation  should  make  a  careful  survey  of  all  con- 
templated improvements  that  the  nation  itself  intends  to  make 
in  the  shape  of  building  merchant  ships,  the  kind  of  material 
required  to  carry  out  the  program,  and  the  number  of  seamen, 
workmen,  etc.,  that  will  be  needed  not  only  to  finish  the  work, 
but  to  continue  in  the  work  of  repairing  the  ships  and  every- 
thing connected  with  the  ship-building  enterprise. 

Then  the  inland  waterway  improvements  that  the  govern- 
ment contemplates  constructing  should  also  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration. An  estimate  should  be  made  of  the  amount  of  farm 
machinery  that  will  be  needed  not  only  by  this  nation  but  by 
other  nations  for  their  agricultural  rehabilitation.  Then  if  it 
is  contemplated  that  this  government  should  open  up  lands  in 
the  south  and  west,  these  lands  to  be  sold  to  our  soldiers  without 
any  initial  paj'^ment,  if  they  cannot  afford  to  make  any,  and 
enough  money  should  be  advanced  for  the  construction  of  houses, 
irrigation  ditches  and  other  required  improvements,  that  should 
be  taken  into  account  as  well,  and  reduced  to  number  of  men 
and  material  needed. 

Then  an  estimate  should  be  made  of  the  kind  of  material  and 
men  that  will  be  required  to  rehabilitate  that  area  of  Belgium 
and  France,  Italy  and  Russia,  which  has  been  devastated  by  the 
enemy's  fire.  In  other  words,  an  estimate  should  be  made  as 
intelligently  and  carefully  as  possible,  that  will  give  this  coun- 
try rather  definite  information  as  to  what  will  be  required  in 
material  and  men  for  reconstructcion  work  at  home  and  abroad. 
Then  a  survey  should  be  made  of  the  soldiers  who  are  now  in 
Europe  and  who  have  returned  home.  Every  trade  or  profes- 
sion should  be  ascertained,  or  if  they  have  neither  trade  nor 
profession,  their  aptitude  for  any  particular  work  should  be 

[56] 


THE  NEW  CIVILIZATION 

taken  into  consideration,  and  those  who  wish  to  go  on  govern- 
ment farms  should  also  be  classified. 

It  is  also  quite  possible  that  our  Allies  especially,  having  so 
many  of  their  men  crippled,  may  need  a  number  of  our  men  for 
rehabilitation  work  over  there,  and  our  soldiers  may  be  willing 
to  accept  employment  from  the  governments  of  the  Allies  or 
from  individuals  in  order  to  help  rebuild  these  devastated  coun- 
tries, and  restore  their  machinery,  etc.  This  would  be  a  labor 
of  love  as  well  as  a  well  paid  labor.  It  seems  only  right  that  we 
should  offer  to  our  Allies  as  many  of  our  soldiers  as  they  will 
require  for  this  work.  Meanwhile,  we  will  have  a  better  oppor- 
tunity to  gradually  place  them  over  here.  They  could  accept 
service  for  a  stated  period,  three  months,  six  months,  or  a  year. 

Then  we  would  have  a  fairly  intelligent  basis  upon  which 
we  might  work.  When  that  is  done,  we  will  be  in  a  position  to 
approximate  at  least,  the  industrial  situation  of  this  nation. 


[57] 


CHAPTER   IX 
GOOD  ROADS 

It  should  hardly  be  necessary  to  devote  a  chapter  to  the 
subject  of  Good  Roads,  but  a  chain  is  only  as  strong  as  its 
weakest  link,  and  in  the  chain  of  transportation,  good  roads  is 
one  of  the  important  links,  in  fact,  the  most  essential  one,  for 
without  good  roads  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  supplies  to 
the  farmer,  who  is  dependent  upon  the  automobile  truck,  the 
wagon,  or  the  buggy,  to  secure  his  supplies  and  also  to  send  the 
products  of  his  farm  to  the  nearest  point  of  transportation. 

Years  ago  when  the  subject  of  good  roads  was  first  agitated, 
the  farmer  had  an  idea  that  the  reason  for  good  roads  was  to 
give  the  automobilist  an  opportunity  to  speed  and  that  the 
farmer  was  to  pay  for  the  road  which  the  automobilist  was 
using  for  the  purpose  of  gratifying  his  pleasure. 

Fortunately,  through  a  campaign  of  education,  the  farmer 
has  become  convinced  that  good  roads  are  just  as  essential  to 
his  prosperity,  if  not  more  so,  than  that  of  any  other  class  of 
citizens.  When  people  look  for  a  farm  today,  they  usually  look 
for  one  that  is  located  as  near  as  possible  to  a  good  road.  As 
time  passes  on,  every  farmhouse  in  the  country  will  be  on,  or 
easily  accessible  to,  a  good  road. 

In  our  own  state  of  Illinois,  while  we  have  been  rather  back- 
ward in  comparison  with  other  states,  we,  too,  are  now  awaken- 
ing to  the  necessity  of  connecting  the  byways  of  the  state  with 
the  public  highways,  the  public  highways  with  the  railroads  and 
the  waterways,  and  the  watcnvays  with  the  lakes  and  the  ocean. 
In  that  way,  we  will  have  a  transportation  chain  that  will  spell 
prosperity  for  the  state  and  for  the  nation. 

[58] 


GOOD  ROADS 

Before  this  book  is  off  the  press,  the  people  of  the  state  will 
vote  on  the  question  of  a  $60,000,000  bond  issue,  the  money 
from  these  bonds  to  be  expended  for  the  improvement  of  some 
4,600  miles  of  roads  these  bonds  to  be  retired  in  serial  payments 
over  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  and  the  entire  amount  to  be 
paid  out  of  the  automobile  tax  now  levied  under  the  law.  The 
only  difference  the  passage  of  the  law  for  this  bond  issue  and 
its  defeat  makes,  is  that  if  it  should  be  voted  affirmatively,  the 
work  on  the  roads  can  be  commenced  as  soon  after  the  close  of 
the  war  as  the  state  is  ready  to  order  the  work  started,  and  can 
be  finished  at  an  early  date,  in  a  comprehensive  and  business- 
like way,  whereas  if  the  law  is  not  passed,  it  means  that  the  fees 
collected  from  the  automobile  license  tax  will  be  applied  piece- 
meal, and  instead  of  having  a  well-built,  well-knit  road,  we  will 
have  a  disconnected,  patchwork  system,  and  it  will  take  twenty 
years  to  complete  it,  and  by  the  time  the  last  link  is  completed 
the  road  will  be  of  little  use,  because  a  road  that  is  not  con- 
nected at  all  places  is  of  little  value. 

I  predict  at  this  time  that  the  bill  will  be  passed  by  an  over- 
whelming majority,  because  the  people  of  our  great  state  are 
aroused  to  the  necessity  of  building  and  maintaining  the  best 
system  of  good  roads  in  the  country. 

The  income  from  tlie  automobile  license  fee  will  probably 
not  only  take  care  of  the  retirement  of  these  bonds  promptly 
upon  their  maturity,  but  there  will  be  a  sufficient  sui'plus  to 
enable  the  state  to  connect  its  byways  so  that  practically^  every 
farm  in  the  state  will  be  on  or  near  a  hard  road.  What  this  will 
mean  to  the  people  of  the  state  may  well  be  realized  when  we 
take  into  account  the  great  loss  of  time  occasioned  to  the  farmer 
in  driving  his  wagon  or  automobile  from  his  farm  to  the  nearest 
business  center  where  he  transacts  his  business.  Not  only  can 
he  make  the  trip  in  half  or  a  third  or  even  a  quarter  of  the  time, 
but  the  wear  and  tear  on  the  vehicle  he  uses  will  be  saved,  and 

[59] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

the  probability  is  that  the  vehicle  will  last  twice  or  three  or 
four  times  as  long.  There  will  not  only  be  a  very  great  saving 
in  his  own  time,  which  means  money  to  him,  but  a  saving  of  the 
expense  of  the  upkeep  on  his  conveyance.  He  can  go  to  mar- 
ket with  his  produce  of  tener,  if  he  wishes,  thus  getting  more  satis- 
factory prices.  Instead  of  being  obliged  to  sell  his  stuff  in  one 
place,  with  good  roads  he  will  have  several  points,  where  he  can 
offer  his  produce,  brought  that  much  closer  to  him.  This  same 
thing  applies  to  his  buying  as  well. 

And  then  the  saving  in  transportation  cost  both  ways  will 
make  the  farmer's  cost  of  living  that  much  less,  and  the  con- 
sumer, who  eventually  purchases  what  the  farmer  produces,  will 
be  able  to  buy  much  cheaper,  because  of  the  saving  in  transpor- 
tation. Good  roads  mean  cleanliness  and  cleanliness  means 
health.  All  homes  that  are  on  good  roads  in  this  way  can  be 
kept  free  from  the  filth  and  dirt  that  is  tracked  in  from  contact 
with  muddy  roads. 

The  saving  in  time  affects  every  one  who  uses  these  roads 
and  will  increase  the  production  of  the  country  many  fold.  Man 
power  will  be  able  to  produce  more  abundantly  at  a  lower  cost 
of  production.  There  cannot  be  a  single  argument  advanced 
against  the  construction  of  good  roads.  This  was  first  recog- 
nized abroad,  and  now  we  are  just  realizing  its  importance  in 
this  country. 

The  expense  of  the  maintenance  of  a  good  road  is  also  much 
less  after  the  road  is  laid  than  the  expense  of  maintaining  a  bad 
one,  so  that  ultimately  the  taxpayers  would  be  taxed  much  less 
for  the  maintenance  of  good  roads  than  for  the  maintenance  of 
bad  ones. 

I  earnestly  hope  that  even  after  this  bill  is  passed,  we  will 
not  be  asleep  on  the  job,  but  will  always  be  alive  to  the  fact  that 
good  roads  spell  prosperity  and  health,  and  more  than  that, 

[60] 


GOOD  ROADS 


bring  the  fanner  especially  closer  to  the  city,  materially  improv- 
ing his  educational  advantages,  and  enable  him  to  take  longer 
periods  of  recreation  without  interfering  with  his  regular  work 
day. 


[61] 


CHAPTER  X 
INLAND  WATERWAYS 

It  must  be  a  generally  accepted  fact,  that  ti'ansportation 
affects  the  price  of  everj'thing  bought  or  sold.  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  transportation  limits  the  territory  tributary  to  the 
trade  of  every  city  far  more  than  any  other  one  thing.  It  fixes 
the  share  obtained  by  any  nation  in  the  commerce  of  the  world, 
and  I  am  quoting  from  a  speech  made  by  Mr.  S.  A.  Thompson, 
whom  I  have  always  considered  an  authority  on  inland  water- 
ways, delivered  before  the  Third  National  Foreign  Trade  Con- 
vention at  New  Orleans,  January  29,  1916.  This  speech  was 
read  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  on  February  22  of  this 
year  by  the  Hon.  J.  E.  Ransdell  of  Louisiana,  United  States 
Senator  from  that  state : 

"I  have  never  been  more  deeply  impressed  with  the  impor- 
tance of  the  transportation  problem  as  affecting  the  industrial 
welfare  of  the  nation  than  I  was  by  this  enlightening  address," 
he  said,  and  added,  "The  transportation  tax  is  by  far  the  heav- 
iest one  we  pay,  and  the  official  figures  for  the  year  1913  show 
that  if  to  the  total  expenditures  made  by  the  national  govern- 
ment for  all  purposes,  we  add  all  those  made  by  the  fort^'-eight 
states,  by  every  county  in  all  the  states,  and  by  every  city, 
town,  and  incorporated  village  in  the  country,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  2,500  and  over,  the  whole  vast  total  sum  could  have  been 
paid  out  of  the  gross  earnings  and  income  of  our  railways  for 
the  same  year,  and  there  would  then  have  been  left  a  surplus  of 
$152,000,000." 

In  this  same  speech  he  said  that  the  average  rate  for  carry- 
ing freight  on  all  the  railroads  of  the  United  States  during  the 

[62] 


INLAND  WATERWAYS 

past  few  years  had  been  about  71/2  mills  per  ton  per  mile,  but 
he  could  pick  out  a  special  group  of  roads  on  which  the  average 
had  been  about  5  mills  per  ton  per  mile,  and  that  on  the  author- 
ity of  the  Pittsburgh  Coal  Exchange,  he  made  the  statement 
that  coal  has  often  been  carried  from  Pittsburgh  to  New  Orleans 
on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  for  one-third  of  a  mill  per  ton  per 
mile,  a  saving  of  93  1-3  per  cent  by  water,  as  against  the  average 
rate  of  5  mills  by  the  railroad. 

In  other  words,  he  maintains  that  with  a  dollar  bill  you  can 
transport,  at  the  average  rate  charged  by  the  railroads  in  the 
United  States,  a  ton  of  freight  200  miles,  while  you  can  trans- 
port that  same  freight  3,000  miles  on  the  Great  Lakes  or  on  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers,  or  fifteen  times  the  distance  for  the 
same  amount  of  money. 

Mr.  Thompson  also  states  that  through  the  Soo  Canal,  at 
the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior,  there  were  carried  in  1913,  79,719,- 
344  tons  of  freight.  This  was  carried  an  average  distance  of  820 
miles  at  an  average  cost  of  two-thirds  of  a  mill  per  ton  per  mile. 
If  this  same  quantity  of  freight  had  been  sent  an  equal  distance 
by  rail  at  the  average  rate  received  by  United  States  railways  for 
that  year,  it  would  have  cost  $445,555,488.59  more  than  was 
actually  paid  for  its  transportation  by  water.  Think  of  it,  not 
quite  half  a  billion  of  dollars  more  would  have  been  paid  by  those 
who  received  this  freight,  and  on  just  one  canal.  Naturally  that 
cost  would  have  been  added  to  the  cost  of  the  commodity  when 
it  was  finally  disposed  of  by  the  consignee.  It  has  never  been 
disputed  that  the  reason  our  waterways  have  not  been  improved 
is  due  in  a  large  measure  to  the  antagonism  of  the  railroads.  A 
narrow  minded  policy,  but  the  railroads  have  never  been  able  to 
see  it.  Yet  where  a  comparison  is  made  with  an}'  foreign  coun- 
try' where  waterways  are  improved,  the  railroads  have  been  bene- 
fited, because  the  creation  of  this  waterway  has  increased  the 
business  of  that  particular  section,  and  the  railroads  then  carry 

[63] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

certain  freight  which  they  can  always  carry  better  than  the 
waterways,  and  receive  more  than  an  equivalent  of  what  the 
waterways  took  away  from  them,  in  increased  business  that  comes 
to  the  territory  by  reason  of  the  increased  business  created  by 
the  building  of  waterways.  Foreign  commerce  is  developed  only 
so  fast  as  the  internal  development  of  the  nation  permits,  and 
the  more  intensive  the  internal  development,  the  more  extensive 
the  foreign  trade  development. 

Of  what  avail  is  it  to  have  the  best  natural  resources  if  the 
cost  of  transportation  makes  it  prohibitive  to  develop  them.'' 
Every  decrease  in  the  cost  of  transportation  makes  possible  the 
utilization  of  additional  resources.  Vast  quantites  of  raw  and 
crude  materials  can  only  be  profitably  moved  at  a  rate  which  is 
below  the  absolute  cost  of  railway  transportation,  but  these 
crude  materials  when  moved  by  the  cheap  transportation  wliich 
the  waterways  can  give,  furnish  the  foundation  for  great  indus- 
tries. I  am  quoting  all  along  from  the  speech  by  Mr.  Thompson. 
He  also  refers  to  what  happened  in  the  city  of  Frankfort  in  Ger- 
many, founded  by  the  Romans  in  the  year  150  A.  D.  In  1881, 
the  town  had  a  population  of  140,000,  and  during  twenty  years 
since  1886,  Frankfort  grew  more  in  industry  and  commerce  and 
population  than  in  all  the  previous  1,700  years.  When  Mr. 
Thompson  visited  Frankfort  about  five  years  ago,  his  attention 
was  called  to  the  fact  that  some  twenty  years  ago,  a  channel  8 
feet  deep  was  made  in  a  little  river  that  entered  Frankfort.  With 
the  improvement,  which  first  cost  $1,750,000,  then  later  im- 
provements commensurate  with  the  city's  growth,  which  would 
cost,  when  completed  $18,000,000,  we  can  get  some  idea  of  the 
benefits  that  must  have  accrued  to  Frankfort  or  she  would  not 
have  contemplated  an  expenditure  of  tliis  size  for  further  harbor 
improvements. 

Mr.  Thompson  also  says  that  there  is  a  railroad  running 
along  each  bank  of  the  River  Main  all  the  way  down  to  the 

[64,] 


INLAND  WATERWAYS 

Rhine.  The  business  of  the  railroads  did  not  fall  off,  but  on  the 
contrary,  their  business  began  to  grow  by  leaps  and  bounds, 
and  at  the  time  the  war  broke  out  they  were  handling  at  least 
four  times  as  much  tonnage  as  they  hauled  when  they  had  a  prac- 
tical monopoly  of  the  business  of  Frankfort. 

With  the  development  of  these  waterways,  the  city  of  Frank- 
fort began  to  develop  its  commerce  and  its  industry,  and  cars  and 
boats  were  loaded  in  both  directions.  They  had  much  to  seU 
and  naturally  had  much  to  buy.  Thus  the  traffic  was  not  only 
quadrupled  in  quantity  but  equalized  in  both  directions.  This, 
of  course,  had  another  material  effect  in  reducing  the  cost  of 
transportation.  Cars,  ships,  and  boats  went  out  loaded  and 
came  back  loaded.  There  was  also  a  great  increase  in  passenger 
service  by  reason  of  this  increased  activity,  and  it  is  noted  that 
the  Prussian  railroad  administration  spent  $11,000,000  on  in- 
creased terminal  facilities  in  order  to  take  care  of  the  traffic 
which  the  river  created  and  brought  to  the  railway. 

Mr.  Thompson  also  quotes  the  sworn  testimony  of  a  manu- 
facturer in  a  district  in  England  located  eightj^-five  miles  from 
a  first-class  port,  and  105  miles  from  London  by  rail.  This  re- 
port states  that  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  he  was  eighty-five 
miles  from  a  first-class  port,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
he  was  only  105  miles  from  London  by  rail,  he  was  being  beaten 
in  the  markets  of  the  world  which  he  once  dominated  in  his  line, 
and  he  was  actually  driven  from  the  capital  of  his  oiiVn  country 
by  the  manufacturers  of  Frankfort  and  INIannhcim,  in  the  heart 
of  Germany,  500  miles  farther  away,  but  with  water  transpor- 
tation available  all  the  way.  If  this  is  at  all  surprising  to  the 
readers  of  this  book,  let  them  just  revert  for  a  moment  to  the 
situation  in  our  own  country,  where  we  are  shipping  goods  from 
the  city  of  Chicago  to  the  Atlantic  seaport,  1,000  miles  distant, 
then  transporting  them  by  boat  through  the  Panama  Canal  to 
San  Francisco,  because  it  is  much  cheaper  to  pay  railroad  rates 

[65] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

that  1,000  miles  and  then  the  other  5,299  miles  by  boat  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco,  through  the  Canal,  than  it  would 
be  to  ship  the  3,000  miles  by  rail  from  Chicago  to  San  Fran- 
cisco. 

Mr.  Thompson,  by  the  way,  also  states  that  in  Manchester, 
England,  in  the  early  eighties,  5,000  dwelling  houses  were  tenant- 
less,  hundreds  of  warehouses  were  vacant,  and  factories  by  the 
score  were  closing  their  doors  and  moving  to  tlic  coast.  A  dozen 
years  later  a  marvelous  transformation  had  been  wrought.  The 
5,000  dwelling  houses  were  occupied,  and  20,000  new  ones  had 
been  built  and  were  occupied.  All  of  the  vacant  warehouses  and 
hundreds  of  new  ones  were  teeming  with  business,  and  factories, 
both  old  and  new,  some  of  the  latter  being  among  the  largest  in 
England,  were  humming  with  industry.  The  disease  which  was 
threatening  to  destroy  the  life  of  the  city  was  costly  transpor- 
tation, and  the  remedy  which  wrought  such  a  wonderful  change 
as  that  outlined,  was  the  building  of  a  ship  canal.  Mr.  Thomp- 
son also  states  that  Liverpool  and  the  railroads  leading  from 
that  city  to  ]\Ianchcster,  fought  with  the  energy  of  despair 
against  the  building  of  this  canal,  thinking  that  their  business 
would  be  destroyed.  Although  Liverpool,  in  an  effort  to  retain 
the  business  built  up  through  generations  of  work  and  effort 
and  the  expenditure  of  vast  sums  of  money,  made  repeated  re- 
ductions in  dock  charges,  the  revenue  of  the  Mersey  Docks  and 
Harbor  Board  increased  five  times  as  much  during  the  thirteen 
years  following  the  opening  of  the  canal  as  they  had  during  the 
same  number  of  years  before.  Tlie  7,000,000  tons  of  traffic 
developed  at  JManchester  was  not  stolen  from  Liverpool.  It  was 
created  anew,  and  incidentally,  every  railroad  leading  from  Man- 
chester to  Liverpool  has  had  to  increase  its  trackage  three  or 
four  times  over  to  accommodate  the  enlarged  traffic  which  the 
canal  has  produced. 

[66] 


INLAND  WATERWAYS 

Mr  Thompson  points  out  the  following:  If  Manchester, 
when  It  was  only  fifty  miles  from  the  sea,  could  not  compete  with 
Liverpool,  how  m  heaven's  name  can  cities  in  the  interior  of  the 
United  States,  1,000  miles  away  from  tide  water,  hope  to  develop 
a  foreign  trade  or  retain  the  trade  they  may  have  now,  in  compe 
tition  with  cities  on  or  near  the  coasts  ? 

We  have  built  a  great  Panama  Canal,  expending  $400,000,- 
000  in  order  to  shorten  the  route  to  the  west  coast  of  South 
America  and  the  Pacific  by  thousands  of  miles,  yet  without  inland 
waterways  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  which  embraces  one-half  or 
more  of  the  population  of  this  country,  we  will  receive  no  benefit 
from  this  canal,  the  cost  of  which  we  had  to  share ;  but  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  It  has  given  our  competitors,  foreign  competitors 
especially,  the  advantage  of  this  shorter  route  so  that  they  can 
make  and  sell  goods  cheaper  by  reason  of  the  lower  freight  rates 
which  we  have  been  instrumental  in  giving  them. 

For  many  years,  I  have  pointed  out  to  the  people  of  this 
country  m  the  addresses  I  have  made  in  favor  of  the  upbuildino- 
of  our  merchant  marine,  that  Germany  by  reason  of  her  mer*^ 
chant  marine  and  her  cheap  inland  waterway  transportation,  in 
commerce  was  far  outdistancing  this  country.  Time  and  time 
again  I  pointed  out  the  fact  that  her  foreign  trade  was  steadily 
growing  at  a  much  greater  pace  than  ours,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  we  have  the  best  natural  resources,  tremendously 
greater  capital,  and  an  area  fifteen  times  greater  than  Gei- 
many. 

It  may  even  seem  a  paradox  that  while  Germany  was  fighting 
for  its  very  existence,  with  no  prospects  of  success,  unless  she 
yielded  to  America's  just  demands,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  she  needed  every  dollar  of  her  money,  she  went  right  on 
while  she  was  fighting  this  war,  expending  vast  sums  of  money 
for  the  improvement  of  her  inland  waterways,  and  in  building 
bigger  merchant  ships  than  she  oT^ncd  before  the  war.   She  real^ 

[67] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

ized  that  whether  she  lost  or  won  this  war,  her  fight  would  be  to 
maintain  herself  economically  after  the  war,  and  she  wanted  to 
place  herself  in  a  position  Avhere  her  foreign  commerce  could  be 
handled  at  a  minimum  cost,  thus  giving  her  the  advantage  over 
America,  as  well  as  other  nations.  Are  we  going  to  sit  supinely 
by  and  allow  Germany  to  again  outdistance  us  in  this  regard, 
as  she  did  before  the  war?  I  think  not.  At  least,  I  have  con- 
fidence in  the  American  people,  and  I  know  when  they  are  once 
aroused  to  their  need,  they  will  be  equal  to  the  task  after  the 
war,  just  as  thcj^  are  equal  to  the  task  of  winning  it. 

National  preparedness  does  not  mean  alone  that  we  should 
have  guns,  and  ammunition,  and  armament  ready  to  fight  at  a 
moment's  notice,  but  it  means  economic  preparedness,  and  to 
insure  such  economic  preparedness,  improved  waterways  must 
be  given  first  place,  for  the  military  efficiency  and  the  commer- 
cial supremacy  of  a  nation  are  founded  upon  its  industrial 
development,  and  its  industrial  development  depends  in  a  meas- 
ure on  cheap  transportation,  and  the  cheapest  of  all  this  trans- 
portation is  water  transportation. 

Now,  let  us  come  to  our  own  great  state  of  Illinois.  Since 
the  days  of  its  early  exploration,  the  inland  waterways  of  the 
state  were  the  natural  and  only  means  of  transportation.  The 
Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  was  the  great  inland  waterway  of 
our  state.  Later  on,  when  the  railroads  were  built,  this  canal 
was  abandoned  because  of  its  shallowness,  as  the  railroads  were 
better  fitted  to  carry  large  quantities  of  freight  satisfactorily 
than  they  could  then  be  transported  in  small  barges  on  the 
canal.  This  great  canal  became  just  a  memory  as  far  as  its 
use  for  the  purpose  of  transportation  was  concerned.  From 
the  days  of  George  Washington  down  to  the  present,  almost 
every  noted  citizen  of  our  country  advocated  the  improvement 
of  the  inland  waterways  of  the  nation,  and  time  and  time  again, 
the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  Deep  Waterway  project  was  com- 
mended to  the  people  of  Illinois,  until  finally  in  1908  the  people 

[68] 


INLAND  WATERWAYS 

of  Illinois  voted  on  a  constitutional  amendment  authorizing  the 
issue  of  bonds  by  the  state  to  defray  the  cost  of  building  a  deep 
waterway  from  the  upper  part  of  the  Sanitary  Drainage  Dis- 
trict of  Cliicago  "to  a  point  in  the  Illinois  river  at,  or  near, 
Utica."  The  sum  named  was  $20,000,000  and  the  returns 
showed  that  there  were  675,296  votes  for  the  issue  and  193,296 
votes  against  it.  This  vote  sanctioned  "the  erection,  equipment, 
and  maintenance  of  power  plant,  locks,  bridges,  dams,  and  appli- 
ances sufficient  and  suitable  therefor."  Estimates  based  upon 
a  survey  made  by  United  States  engineers  showed  that  the  water- 
way contemplated  in  the  amendment,  14  feet  deep  and  300  feet 
wide,  together  with  the  development  of  four  water  power  sites 
at  different  designated  places,  could  be  built  for  the  $20,000,000 
authorized.  Many  investigations  and  reports  on  this  waterway 
were  made  by  the  boards  of  officers  of  the  United  States  Corps 
of  Engineers,  and  their  later  reports  accepted  the  Chicago  Sani- 
tary and  Ship  Canal  as  the  completed  portion  of  that  waterway. 
All  of  these  reports  favored  the  utilization  of  the  Desplaines  and 
Illinois  rivers  in  preference  to  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal. 
For  one  reason  or  another,  this  project  was  permitted  to  die  and 
nothing  definite  was  done. 

Then  again  in  1911,  engineers  appointed  by  the  Federal 
Government  made  investigation  of  the  subject  and  reported  to 
the  Secretary  of  War.  These  engineers  made  their  report  in 
1911  and  this  report  was  submitted  at  the  following  session  of 
Congress.  In  the  words  of  then  Governor  Dunne,  "In  substance, 
this  report  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  is  only  an  eight 
foot  depth  in  the  Mississippi  river  between  St.  Louis  and  Cairo, 
with  no  likelihood  of  securing  a  greater  depth  in  the  near  future. 
They  also  suggested  that  the  waterway  in  the  Illinois  river 
between  Lockport  and  Utica  should  be  constructed  with  a  depth 
of  eight  feet;  that  the  State  of  Illinois  sliould  be  encouraged  to 
build  a  waterway  between  these  points,  of  such  depth  and  that 
the  Federal  Government  should  dredge  the  Illinois  river  from 

[69] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

its  present  depth  of  seven  feet,  between  Utica  and  the  Mississippi 
river,  to  a  further  depth  of  eight  feet."  Governor  Dunne 
adds  :  "In  view  of  this  report  and  these  recommendations  by  these 
eminent  engineers  of  the  Federal  Government,  I  reached  the 
conclusion,  as  Governor  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  that  the  time  had 
come  when  the  State  of  Illinois  should  do  something,  particularly 
in  the  way  of  creating  an  eight  foot  channel  from  Chicago  to 
New  Orleans  by  the  construction  of  a  waterway  of  this  depth 
between  Lockport  and  Utica." 

He  further  explains  the  recommendation  of  these  engineers 
for  an  eight  foot  channel  as  described  above.  This  statement 
was  made  by  Governor  Dunne,  November  11,  1915,  in  an  ad- 
dress at  Davenport,  Iowa.  He  added  then,  that  application  was 
promptly  made  to  the  Secretary  of  War  for  a  permit  to  do  this 
work,  and  that  he  was  pleased  to  say  that  all  legal  difficulties 
had  been  overcome  and  that  the  final  hearing  of  the  plans  and 
profiles  of  the  scheme  was  under  way  by  the  Federal  engineers 
under  the  direction  of  the  Department  of  War.  He  closed  his 
remarks  by  saying  that  he  knew  "of  no  project  of  such  tremen- 
dous importance  to  the  people  of  this  section  as  the  building  of 
this  waterway,  and  that  it  would  redound  to  the  wealth  and 
prosperity  of  Illinois  and  the  surrounding  states."  Since  that 
address  was  delivered  by  Governor  Dunne,  three  years,  lacking 
a  month  have  elapsed,  and  still  nothing  has  been  done  to  secure 
this  admittedly  greatly  needed  waterway. 

•  Therefore,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  Governor  Lowden,  on  the 
eleventh  of  September,  1918,  as  follows: 

"Hon.  Fkank  O.  Lowden, 

"Springfield,  Illinois. 
"My  Dear  Governor: 

"I  am  deeply  interested  in  the  Illinois  Waterway  proposition. 
As  I  understand  it,  the  law  has  been  held  valid  by  the  Supreme 

[70] 


INLAND  WATERWAYS 

Court  of  the  State,  and  nothing  remains  to  be  done  but  to  issue 
the  bonds  and  put  the  law  in  force.  Will  jou  kindly  let  me  know 
what  the  present  status  is? 

"Thanking  you  for  any  information  you  may  give  me,  I  re- 
main with  kind  regards, 

"Very  truly  yours, 

"Benjamin  J.  Rosenthal." 

I  received  a  reply  to  this  letter,  dated  September  eighteenth, 
1918,  signed  by  Mr.  W.  L.  Sackett,  Superintendent  of  Water- 
ways, and  this  letter  I  am  publishing  herewith  : 

"Mr.  Benjamin  J.  Rosenthal, 

"1402  North  American  Bldg.,  Chicago. 
"Dear  Sir : 

"Your  letter  of  September  11th  to  Governor  Lowden,  rela- 
tive to  the  present  status  of  the  Illinois  Waterways  proposition, 
has  been  referred  to  this  department  for  reply. 

"The  law  authorizing  the  bond  issue  was  held  valid  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  this  state  in  March,  1917.  However,  when 
the  present  administration  assumed  charge  of  this  matter,  July 
1,  1917,  it  was  found  that  there  were  no  detailed  plans  pre- 
pared for  this  watei-way  and  there  was  nothing  upon  which  con- 
tracts for  construction  could  be  based. 

"In  addition  to  this  lack  of  preliminary  detail  so  far  as  the 
state  is  concerned,  it  was  also  found  that  permission  for  this 
work  had  been  denied  by  the  Federal  Government,  and  tliat  an 
effort  to  secure  Congressional  approval  resulted  in  failure. 

"The  present  administration  has  been  engaged  since  Novem- 
ber first,  last,  in  working  out  the  engineering  details,  having 
employed  Mr.  M.  G.  Barnes  to  take  charge  of  this  work.  It  is 
hoped  that  sufficient  data  will  be  available  before  the  end  of  the 
year  to  secure  the  approval  of  the  Federal  engineers,  that  ccr- 

[71] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

tain  amendments  to  the  state  law  that  are  deemed  essential  may 
be  secured  from  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature.  If  both  of 
these  details  can  be  accomplished,  it  is  the  belief  of  those  han- 
dling this  matter,  that  favorable  Congressional  action  can  then 
be  secured,  detailed  plans  prepared,  and  we  will  then  have 
reached  the  stage  where  actual  construction  work  can  be  under- 
taken. 

"Very  truly  yours, 
"Department  of  Public  Works  and  Buildings. 
"(Signed)  W.  L.  Sackett, 

"Superintendent  of  Waterways." 

Now,  I  am  not  blaming  Governor  Lowden,  nor  Governor 
Dunne,  nor  Governor  Deneen,  nor  any  other  Governors  of  the 
State  of  Illinois  for  this  delay,  nor  am  I  blaming  the  legislature 
of  the  State,  nor  the  government  at  Washington,  nor  any  of  its 
officials.  I  blame  only  the  American  people,  and  especially  the 
people  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  All  over  the  civilized  world,  we 
have  evidence  of  the  improvement  in  inland  waterways.  The 
experience  of  every  nation  has  been  that  with  their  improvement 
comes  hand  in  hand  the  industrial  expansion  of  those  countries 
where  these  improvements  are  made.  In  our  own  country,  there 
has  been  some  progress  made  in  the  east  in  the  construction  of 
the  New  York  Barge  Canal  and  other  canal  improvements. 

There  was  a  convention  held  in  the  east  recently,  where  the 
subject  of  Atlantic  Coast  Canal  connections  was  under  careful 
consideration.  Much  interest  was  aroused  during  this  conven- 
tion and  the  people  left  with  the  conviction  that  wherever  inland 
waterway  transportation  was  available,  the  people  in  the  east 
must  make  every  eflFort  to  secure  such  transportation. 

The  government,  since  the  war,  and  since  it  has  taken  over 
the  matter  of  inland  waterway  improvements,  combining  it  with 
its  railroad  transportation  problem,  is  doing  everything  to  knit 

[72] 


INLAND  WATERWAYS 

these  waterways  together  with  the  railways,  correlating  them  in 
such  a  way  that  they  work  together.  The  government  is  now 
operating  barge  transportation  from  St.  Paul  to  St.  Louis  and 
from  St.  Louis  on  through  the  jMississippi  to  the  Gulf.  I  am 
satisfied  this  project  will  be  tremendously  successful,  if  handled 
right,  and  at  least,  as  long  as  the  government  controls  the  rail- 
roads, we  will  not  have  their  opposition. 

The  government  has  appropriated  some  $150,000  wliich  is 
being  spent  in  improving  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal  in 
order  to  make  it  navigable,  and  small  barges  are  already  being 
sent  through  in  this  way.  Of  course,  this  is  just  a  "flea  bite," 
but  the  time  is  now  ripe, — and  anybody  who  attempts  to  inter- 
fere with  the  work  is  criminally  culpable, — for  the  immediate  im- 
provement of  these  sixty-five  miles  of  inland  waterway  between 
Lockport  and  Utica,  that  will  connect  the  Hennepin  Canal,  so 
that  the  50,000,000  or  60,000,000  people  living  in  the  Missis-^ 
sippi  Valley  may  receive  the  benefit  of  this  great  waterway  from 
the  west  through  the  Hennepin  Canal,  and  then  into  the  new 
canal,  and  from  there  to  the  Drainage  Canal,  and  out  to  the 
Great  Lakes,  or  into  the  Mississippi  and  on  the  Gulf,  a  complete 
waterway  connecting  the  Great  Lakes  with  the  Gulf  and  with  the 
great  west  by  way  of  the  Hennepin  Canal. 

There  can  be,  and  there  is,  no  argument  against  this  im- 
provement. Everybody  who  knows  anything  about  it,  agrees 
that  it  should  be  done.  Between  the  politicians  and  the  railroads, 
and  God  knows  what  other  obstructionists,  we  have  been  denied 
the  right  of  economic  and  efficient  transportation  these  many 
years.  The  time  has  now  come  when  the  people  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  at  least,  must  take  the  matter  into  their  oAvn  hands. 
They  ought  to  go  to  the  legislature,  if  the  fault  lies  with  the 
legislature,  and  demand  that  such  legislation  providing  for  the 
improvement  of  this  waterway,  be  enacted  immediately  before 
anything  else.     And  then  when  every  obstruction  is  removed,  as 

[78] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

far  as  the  legislature  is  concerned,  they  should  go  before  Con- 
gress and  demand  that  this  emergency  legislation  be  enacted  into 
law  immediatel}^  and  every  obstruction  be  removed,  if  there  be 
any,  so  that  the  work  may  be  commenced  at  once,  not  waiting 
a  moment  that  can  be  avoided.  This  is  after-war  work,  for 
what  is  more  important  in  reconstructing  America  than  ade- 
quate transportation? 

Whether  the  plan  to  be  adopted  should  be  the  plan  of  Gov- 
ernor Dunne  for  an  eight  foot  channel,  utilizing  the  route  of  the 
I.  &  M.  Canal  for  considerable  distance,  with  no  provision  for 
future  deepening,  or  the  plan  advocated  by  Isham  Randolph,  for 
a  river  route,  with  a  short  stretch  of  artificial  channel  to  avoid 
IMarseillcs,  having  an  initial  depth  of  eight  or  nine  feet  and  with 
its  locks  not  less  than  eighty  feet  wide  nor  less  than  six  hundred 
feet  long  and  a  depth  of  fourteen  feet  over  the  miter  sills,  with 
the  purpose  of  eventually  giving  the  canal  a  navigable  depth  of 
fourteen  feet,  by  progressive  deepening  to  meet  the  demands  of 
commerce,  I  am  not  prepared  to  sa3\  There  should  be  enough 
intelligence  among  the  engineers  of  this  state  to  select  the  right 
plan  and  put  it  through  without  further  delay. 

I  cannot  speak  too  strongly  on  this  subject.  I  am  ashamed 
that  this  matter  has  been  bungled  as  it  has  for  the  past  quarter 
of  a  century.  It  is  just  another  case  where  every  one*s  business 
is  no  one's  business. 

It  is  the  same  situation  that  confronted  us  since  the  close  of 
the  Civil  War  when  our  merchant  marine  began  to  decline.  Poli- 
ticians and  railroads  and  shipping  tinists  and  obstructionists  of 
all  kinds  were  responsible  for  the  decadence  of  our  merchant 
marine,  and  they  were  responsible  for  our  delay  in  getting  into 
the  war,  because  if  we  had  had  the  ships  we  should  have  had, 
which  any  thinking  person  who  knew  anything  about  the  sub- 
ject advocated,  the  war  would  have  been  shortened,  in  fact, 
we  would  not  have  had  to  go  to  war  at  all,  for  had  Germany 

[74] 


INLAND  WATERWAYS 

thought  for  one  moment  that  we  had  enough  ships  to  transport 
our  troops  over  there  and  transport  food  and  supplies  at  the 
same  time,  she  would  never  have  dared  to  go  to  war  with  us, 
but  believing  that  we  had  no  means  of  transportation,  she  took 
a  chance  on  a  war  with  us. 

Everybody  within  three  hundred  miles  of  Chicago  is  affected 
by  the  negligence  of  our  state,  or  the  country,  in  not  providing  a 
canal  to  connect  up  the  Drainage  Canal  and  the  Chicago  River 
with  the  Mississippi  River,  and  it  is  time  now  that  this  criminal 
negligence  should  cease. 

We  spent  billions  of  dollars  to  destroy  life,  and  the  war 
taught  us  how  important  it  was  to  spend  these  billions  to  main- 
tain our  honor  and  our  liberty.  Then  let  us  spend  a  few  paltry 
dollars  to  reduce  the  cost  of  living  by  furnishing  cheap  trans- 
portation to  the  people  who  use  these  supplies,  by  reducing  tHe 
cost  of  transportation  to  the  farmer  as  well,  so  that  he  may 
increase  his  acreage,  because  with  low  transportation,  he  can 
compete  successfully  with  anj'  other  faraier,  anywhere. 

By  giving  the  manufacturers  in  the  great  ^Mississippi  A'^alley 
the  opportunity  to  compete  with  all  other  manufactuers  not  only 
in  this  country  but  all  over  the  world,  by  taking  advantage  of 
the  special  privileges  which  God  has  given  them,  the  great  Mis- 
sissippi river  and  its  tributaries,  properly  connected  up,  will 
bring  about  an  era  of  permanent  prosperity  undreamed  of  by 
ourselves,  but  often  foretold  by  thinking  men  who  have  long 
since  passed  on,  but  who  pointed  out  to  us  time  and  time  again, 
our  golden  opportunity. 


[75] 


CHAPTER  XI 
MERCHANT  MARINE 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  a  nation  like  ours,  with  the 
richest  natural  resources  in  the  world,  producing  more  than  any 
other  nation  has  ever  produced,  with  more  to  sell  than  any 
other  country  in  the  world,  with  a  greater  wealth  than  any  other 
nation,  should,  with  all  those  advantages,  permit  its  products  to 
be  carried  on  foreign  bottoms. 

Since  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  the  merchant  marine  of  this 
country  has  been  permitted  to  decline  until  in  1914,  at  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  war,  we  were  carrying  less  than  nine  per  cent  of  our 
vast  foreign  commerce,  amounting  to  about  four  and  a  quarter 
billions  of  dollars,  upon  our  own  bottoms.  We  were  depending 
almost  entirely  upon  foreign  ships  owned  in  a  large  measure  by 
our  own  competitors,  to  carry  the  products  of  our  soil,  of  our 
factories,  and  of  our  mines.  We  were  paying  right  back  in 
freight  rates  the  balance  of  trade  which  was  in  our  favor;  in 
other  words,  the  difference  between  what  we  purchased  abroad 
and  what  we  sold  abroad,  we  paid  right  back  to  foreign  ship 
owners  to  carry  our  goods,  and  besides,  we  were  paying  money 
to  foreign  countries,  which  money  was  used  by  them  in  building 
more  merchant  and  naval  ships  and  submarines,  to  turn  them 
some  day  against  us,  if  we  went  to  war  with  them,  and,  as  events 
subsequently  proved,  that  is  just  what  Germany  did  with  the 
money  we  paid  her  for  carrying  our  commerce. 

These  ship  owners  were  in  many  instances  our  own  competi- 
tors. They  knew  exactly  what  we  were  selling  to  our  foreign  cus- 
tomers ;  they  never  hesitated  to  take  advantage  of  this  knowledge, 

[76] 


MERCHANT  MARINE 

and  time  and  time  again  it  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
people  of  this  country  that  our  competitors  knew  what  we  were 
selling  abroad,  the  price  that  we  were  getting  for  our  merchan- 
dise, and  the  names  of  every  one  of  our  customers,  so  that  it  was 
very  easy  for  them  to  try  to  get  the  business  away  from  us,  and 
what  was  ever  worse,  our  nation  received  scant  courtesy  from 
the  foreign  ship  owners,  who  were  in  a  vast  shipping  trust.  They 
gave  us  the  worst  bottoms,  usually  charged  us  the  highest  rates, 
and  year  after  year,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  every  Presi- 
dent from  Cleveland  to  Wilson,  continually  urged  the  people  to 
rehabilitate  their  merchant  marine,  nothing  was  done  in  a  con- 
structive way  until  the  fall  of  1916,  when  the  shipping  bill  was 
finally  passed  and  signed  by  the  President. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  persistency  of  the  administration  at 
Washington,  and  the  hard  work  of  business  organizations 
throughout  the  country  that  had  been  roused  to  this  nation's 
danger  in  being  without  a  merchant  marine,  it  is  quite  likely 
that  we  would  not  have  had  any  more  ships  today  than  we  had  at 
the  commencement  of  the  war,  about  1,000,000  tons  of  American 
shipping  against  20,000,000  tons  owned  by  England  (that  is, 
had  there  been  no  war).  The  little  kingdom  of  Norway,  with  a 
population  only  as  large  as  the  city  of  Chicago,  boasted  two  and 
a  half  times  as  much  oversea  tonnage  as  our  entire  country.  I 
am  referring  always  to  our  oversea  tonnage. 

Worst  of  all,  we  knew  all  the  time  that  without  merchant 
ships  to  be  used  as  convoys  and  scouts  and  colliers  and  hospital 
ships,  the  great  navy  that  we  were  so  proud  of  would  be  practi- 
cally helpless  if  we  were  forced  to  fight  in  a  war  away  from  home. 
In  view  of  all  these  facts,  we  were  criminally  liable,  and  we 
should  certainly  feel  heartily  ashamed  of  ourselves  for  allowing 
this  condition  to  continue  as  long  as  we  did. 

In  the  year  1910,  the  writer,  who  was  chairman  of  the  :\Ier- 
chant  Marine  Committee  of  the  National  Business  League  of 

[77] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

America,  at  that  time  one  of  the  leading  organizations  of  the 
countrj',  was  sent  abroad  as  the  foreign  commissioner  of  the 
League,  to  study  the  subject  of  the  American  merchant  marine 
in  its  relation  to  foreign  commerce.  Upon  his  return  he  made  a 
report  to  the  League,  pointing  out  the  danger  to  this  country, 
economically  and  from  a  military  standpoint,  through  its  lack 
of  a  merchant  marine.  In  the  year  1911,  a  business  conference 
was  called  by  the  National  Business  League,  in  Chicago,  to 
which  were  invited  the  representative  commercial  organizations  in 
the  United  States.  This  conference  was  largely  attended,  and 
after  listening  to  the  reading  of  several  splendid  papers  by  au- 
thorities on  this  subject,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  matter  and  to  draft  suitable  resolutions.  This  committee 
met  in  June,  1912,  and  it  numbered  some  twenty  of  America's 
leading  business  men  and  financiers.  This  committee  finally 
adopted  a  resolution,  which  read  as  follows  : 

''Resolved,  That  as  an  effective  means  for  the  creation  of  an 
American  Merchant  Marine,  a  law  be  enacted  empowering  the 
Government  to  construct  or  purchase  transports,  for  the  ships 
of  the  United  States  navy,  to  be  operated  by  naval  seamen  as 
merchant  vessels  in  time  of  peace,  and  as  auxiliaries  of  the  navy 
in  time  of  war." 

The  campaign  for  the  election  of  a  President  started  in  the 
fall  of  1912  and  the  platforms  of  both  parties  distinctly  prom- 
ised the  people  that  the  party,  if  elected,  would  have  enacted  into 
legislation  a  merchant  marine  bill,  which  would  rehabilitate  the 
merchant  marine  of  this  country. 

Woodrow  Wilson  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States. 
Before  the  President  took  his  seat,  the  National  Business  liCague 
took  up  this  important  question  with  the  incoming  administra- 
tion, and  it  was  promised  that  as  soon  as  the  administration 
came  into  power,  one  of  its  first  acts  would  be  the  passage  of 
such  a  bill,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  administration  did 

[78] 


MERCHANT  MARINE 

keep  faith,  and  a  short  time  afterwards  what  was  known  as  the 
Alexander  Shipping  Bill  was  introduced  into  the  Congress,  in  the 
year  1915.  Unfortunately,  this  bill,  which  was  somewhat  along 
the  lines  of  the  legislation  suggested  bj'  the  National  Business 
League,  but  which  in  any  event  would  have  resulted  in  the  up- 
building of  our  merchant  marine,  was  defeated  through  a  filibus- 
ter in  the  Senate,  after  it  had  passed  the  House  by  a  large  vote. 
That  was  one  of  the  most  unfortunate  occurrences  ever  recorded 
in  the  history  of  this  country,  so  far  as  the  defeat  of  needed  legis- 
lation is  concerned.  Almost  the  entire  civilized  world  was  at  war. 
Every  member  of  Congress  knew  the  acuteness  of  the  situation 
and  that  there  was  always  a  possibility  of  our  being  forced  into 
this  war.  Every  member  of  Congress  knew  that  we  had  no  ships 
to  transport  our  soldiers  and  our  food  products  and  munitions 
to  the  other  side,  yet,  in  spite  of  that  fact,  members  of  Congress, 
sworn  to  support  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  and  pro- 
tect the  nation,  willfully  worked  to  defeat  this  much  needed  legis- 
lation, and  succeeded,  so  far  as  the  first  bill  was  concerned,  and 
any  delay  in  getting  our  brave  soldiers  to  the  other  side  must  be 
charged  to  this  lack  of  patriotism  in  defeating  the  first  shipping 
bill. 

I  say  now,  without  fear  of  honest  contradiction,  that  had  the 
first  shipping  bill  been  enacted  into  law,  with  the  additional  time 
that  this  nation  would  have  had  to  organize  its  shipping  board 
and  commence  the  building  of  ships,  the  period  of  the  war  would 
have  been  shortened,  for  we  would  have  had  more  of  our  troops 
over  there  just  that  much  earlier.  Fortunately,  however,  as  soon 
as  this  bill  was  defeated,  the  businessmen  who  were  interested  in 
the  nation's  welfare  and  who  were  not  members  of  Congress, 
persisted  in  this  agitation  for  a  new  shipping  bill,  and  as  soon  as 
the  64th  Congress  was  in  session,  work  was  again  commenced, 
and  thank  God,  this  time  the  nation  was  successful  in  securing 
the  passage  of  the  shipping  bill. 

[79] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

The  bill  was  passed  by  the  Senate  August  18,  1916,  was 
signed  by  the  President  September  7,  1916,  and  the  first  ship- 
ping board  was  appointed  by  the  President  December  22,  1916. 
Fortunately  it  had  a  little  start  before  we  went  to  war  on  April 
6,  1917.  The  passage  of  this  bill  will  undoubtedly  be  recognized 
for  all  time  as  one  of  the  important  factors  in  the  defeat  of  the 
Central  Powers.  As  befoi'e  stated,  it  was  unfortunate  that  the 
bill  had  not  been  passed  at  a  previous  session,  for  when  we  see 
what  was  accomplished  from  the  date  of  the  passage  of  the  bill  up 
to  the  present  writing,  we  can  readily  picture  how  much  more 
eifectively  we  would  have  been  prepared  for  the  war  had  the 
original  bill  been  passed.  All  credit  should  be  given  to  every 
man,  irrespective  of  party,  who  voted  for  the  passage  of  this 
legislation,  both  the  first  and  second  bill,  and  reproach  should  be 
heaped  upon  the  head  of  every  man,  Republican  or  Democrat, 
who  voted  against  either  bill  in  either  house. 

Unfortunately  we  have  permitted  politics  to  creep  into  every- 
thing, and  one  of  the  Congressmen  who  voted  against  the  passage 
of  this  most  vital  legislation  made  this  statement  on  the  floor  of 
Congress — I  am  quoting  his  exact  langage : — "How  different  it  is 
with  regard  to  this  bill.  The  real  grounds  upon  which  it  is  now 
pressed  are  political  and  not  national.  It  is  considered  desirable 
that  just  now  the  Administration  should  have  $50,000,000  to 
spend  as  it  pleases.  We  are  on  the  eve  of  a  presidential  election. 
With  this  money  the  administration  can  buy  ships  or  build  ships 
as  may  be  most  advantageous.  It  can  put  them  where  they  will 
do  the  most  good  politically.  It  provides  places  at  high  salaries 
for  a  large  number  of  'deserving  democrats'  who  may  need  to  be 
placated  or  satisfied.  The  money  may  be  used  to  build  up  such 
particular  ports  or  special  industries  as  are  most  advantageous 
to  the  Administration.  It  is  a  political  measure,  pure  and  sim- 
ple, and  its  passage  will  be  a  reproach  and  a  disgrace  to  the  party 
that  forces  its  enactment." 

[80] 


MERCHANT  MARINE 

Think  of  this,  readers  of  this  book.  A  man  sworn  to  sup- 
port this  country  could  so  degrade  himself  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world  as  to  make  such  a  statement.  The  facts  are  as  I  have  shown 
above.  There  was  no  more  politics  in  connection  with  the  ship- 
ping bill  than  there  is  in  your  or  my  business,  and  the  business 
men  who  were  back  of  this  measure,  for  the  most  part,  had  never 
had  any  political  experience  or  political  connection  of  any  kind  or 
nature.  Our  own  great  President  refuted  this  slanderous  state- 
ment, because,  although  the  bill  was  passed  by  the  Senate  on  the 
18th  of  August,  1916,  the  President  made  no  appointments  until 
a  considerable  time  after  the  election.  When  that  Congressman 
said  that  it  was  a  "political  measure  pure  and  simple,  and  its  pas- 
sage will  be  a  reproach  and  a  disgrace  to  the  party  that  forces  its 
enactment,"  he  made  a  statement  that  was  so  basely  false,  so  ut- 
terly absurd  in  the  light  of  all  the  facts,  that  he,  the  man  who 
made  that  statement,  ought  to  resign  from  Congress  and  never 
again  nui  for  public  office, — in  fact,  I  think  he  ought  to  get  out 
of  the  country. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  first  bill  was  introduced  two  years 
before,  and  this  man  knew  it.  There  was  then  no  presidential 
election  in  sight,  and  yet  he  voted  against  the  bill.  He  knew 
when  he  made  that  outrageous  statement  on  the  19th  of  Ma}', 
1916,  that  we  might  at  any  moment  be  involved  in  war,  and 
yet  he  voted  against  the  greatest  preparedness  measure  that  was 
ever  enacted  into  law.  He  also  knew  that  at  the  moment  he  was 
denouncing  this  shipping  bill,  over  100,000  cars  loaded  with 
merchandise,  were  waiting  at  an  eastern  seaport  for  ships  to 
carry  over  the  goods  that  had  been  sold  abroad  but  for  which 
there  were  no  ships. 

The  whole  difficulty  is  that  we  elect  some  men  to  Congress  who 
have  no  conception  of  right.  Politicians  themselves,  they  impute 
political  motives  to  everything  connected  with  legislation.    Non- 

[81] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

partisanship  is  so  foreign  to  some  of  them  that  they  cannot  recog- 
nize it  when  they  see  it  in  others. 

Now  that  we  have  a  shipping  board  and  are  building  ships, 
and  now  that  we  have  great  shipyards,  the  question  is,  Are  we 
going  to  take  advantage  of  the  splendid  asset  which  Providence 
has  given  to  this  nation;  or  are  we  going  to  permit  its  destruc- 
tion? In  the  light  of  all  our  past  experience,  it  ought  not  to  be 
necessary  to  give  much  time  to  this  subject.  Every  man,  woman, 
and  child  should  recognize  now,  if  never  before,  the  great  impor- 
tance to  this  nation,  both  from  an  economic  and  a  military  stand- 
point, of  a  great  merchant  marine.  We  should  insist  now  that  we 
continue  our  ship  building  program  until  we  have  constructed 
enough  ships  to  carr}-  every  dollar  of  our  own  commerce  on  our 
own  bottoms,  and  to  that  end  I  am  pleading  with  my  readers  that 
they  keep  in  touch  with  this  shipping  program,  because  it  not 
only  means  the  safety  of  the  nation,  but  it  means  that,  economi- 
cally, we  will  be  able  to  do  more  through  the  upbuilding  of  our 
shipping  industry  than  through  any  other  vehicle  that  we  have. 

In  constructing  these  ships,  not  only  will  we  continue  to  give 
employment  at  good  wages  to  thousands  of  men  who  were  form- 
merly  unskilled,  who  have  now  become  trained  ship  builders,  but 
we  will  also  keep  on  these  ships  thousands  of  our  splendid  young 
American  seamen  who  are  now  on  our  merchant  ships,  and  who 
undoubtedly  would  like  to  stay  in  the  service  of  the  country. 

With  new  trade  routes  that  this  nation  can  establish,  co- 
operating with  our  railroads,  now  controlled  by  the  government, 
and  with  our  waterways,  we  will  have  a  transportation  arm  that 
will  girdle  the  entire  world,  and  every  manufacturer  in  the  coun- 
try, every  shipper  of  any  commodity  that  can  be  used  abroad,  will 
be  placed  in  a  position  where  he  can  ship  his  goods  to  any  part  of 
the  world  at  a  lesser  freight  rate  than  any  other  nation  can  make, 
without  interruption  by  any  foreign  power  or  individual. 

[82] 


CHAPTER  XII 
AFTER  THE  WAR— WHAT? 

After  the  war,  what?  That  question  should  be  uppermost  in 
the  mind  of  every  thinking  person  at  this  time.  The  war  has 
been  won.  American  arms  and  American  manhood  have  glo- 
riously triumphed.  From  the  moment  this  country  declared 
war  against  Germany,  a  movement  started  in  this  nation  that 
was  bound  to  become  irresistible.  Over  night  those  wonderful 
cantonments  and  training  camps  sprang  up  on  the  Atlantic,  on 
the  Pacific,  in  the  north,  in  the  middle  west,  and  in  the  South. 
Then  came  the  draft,  and  the  steady  tramp  of  marching  feet  as 
thousands  of  the  flower  of  our  country  marched  to  these  can- 
tonments. Then  followed  a  splendid  training  of  head  and  hand, 
which  has  developed  the  American  boy  into  the  cleanest,  bravest 
fighting  force  that  has  ever  engaged  in  battle. 

During  that  time,  as  if  by  magic,  the  bowels  of  the  earth  re- 
leased their  A^ast  stores  of  iron,  copper,  and  coal,  and  the  forests 
poured  forth  endless  quantites  of  lumber.  Ship  yards  sprang 
up  all  over  the  United  States,  and  these  supplies  of  iron  and  lum- 
ber were  transformed  into  the  finished  product — monster  ships. 
Then  the  great  transports  started  across  the  boundless  sea,  car- 
rying the  brave  men  we  had  so  carefully  trained,  and  supplies, 
ammunition,  guns,  and  food,  vmtil  before  the  world  realized  what 
was  taking  place,  nearly  2,000,000  of  our  bo3's  had  landed  on 
foreign  shores,  and  were  fighting  bravely  and  fiercely,  animated 
by  high  ideals  and  actuated  only  by  the  desire  to  do  the  righv 
thing.  Every  American  soldier  has  been  so  carefully  traincS 
that  not  only  General  Pershing,  but  all  the  Allied  Generals  as 
well,  arc  as  proud  of  our  boys  as  we  Americans  are. 

[83] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

Every  Liberty  Loan  issue  over-subscribed ;  the  vast  acreage 
of  the  nation  yielding  a  most  bountiful  harvest ;  the  people  of  the 
country  voluntarily  denying  themselves  wheat,  sugar,  and  fats, 
so  that  not  onl}'-  our  own  brave  boys,  but  our  Allies  also,  might  be 
denied  nothing  for  their  comfort  and  health ;  raising  vast  sums 
of  money  for  war  camp  community  service,  and  Red  Cross  work; 
and  many  other  activities ;  practicing  self-denial ;  making  sacri- 
fices where  necessary,  the  spirit  of  the  American  people  never 
lagging  for  a  single  instant — that  is  the  great  American  spirit, 
which,  slow  to  awaken,  when  once  aroused,  becomes  irresistible, 
and  so  we  safely  left  the  course  of  the  war  to  those  who  had 
guided  its  destinies  so  splendidly  from  the  start ;  and  the  result 
was  victory !  And  we,  who  are  left  behind,  should  give  our 
energies  to  that  most  important  problem,  "after-the-war." 

When  we  consider  that  there  are  over  2,000,000  of  our  boys 
still  on  the  other  side  or  who  will  be  ready  to  return  to  us 
shortU' ,  as  we  demobilize  our  armies  ;  that  thousands  of  men  past 
45  years  of  age,  who  formerly  were  denied  work  by  reason  of 
their  age,  are  now  usefully  and  profitably  employed,  giving 
everything  that  is  in  them  to  the  service  of  their  country,  and 
their  employers;  that  thousands  of  crippled  and  handicapped 
men,  and  women  also,  who  not  so  long  ago,  were  thrust  aside, 
thoughtlessly,  I  know,  because  of  that  handicap,  are  today  giv- 
ing every  ounce  of  their  energy  and  the  best  that  they  can  give 
in  order  to  serve  their  employer  faithfully  and  help  their  coun- 
try, we  pause  and  ponder.  And  when  we  look  around  and  see 
the  thousands  of  women,  many  of  whom  have  not  only  given 
their  sons  and  their  brothers  to  the  cause  for  which  we  are  fight- 
ing, but  who  have  entered  industrial  life,  some  of  them  perform- 
ing hard  physical  labor,  many  of  whom  may  find  it  necessary  to 
continue  being  employed ;  and  when  we  see  thousands  of  unfor- 
tunate women  who  could  not  earn  enough  to  keep  body  and  soul 
together  before  the  war,  and  who  are  now  profitably  employed, 

[84] 


AFTER  THE  WAR— WHAT? 

and  anxious  to  live  virtuous  lives,  we  again  reflect  most  seri- 
ously. When  we  consider  all  these  facts,  and  realize  that  with 
the  signing  of  the  armistice  all  of  the  vast  industrial  enterprises 
which  have  been  transferred  from  their  regular  line  of  business 
into  war  essential  work,  working  on  large  government  contracts 
since  cancelled,  that  employed  large  numbers  of  men  and  women, 
many  of  whom  will  find  their  occupations  taken  from  them, 
with  a  shut-down  always  necessarily  imminent, — the  nation  must 
then  indeed  reahze  the  seriousness  of  the  problem  that  confronts 
it  and  the  importance  of  immediately  working  out,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, some  solution  of  this  problem. 

I  am,  therefore,  making  a  few  suggestions,  and  these  sug- 
gestions, together  with  many  others  that  no  doubt  will  be  made 
by  people  better  informed  than  I  am,  if  carried  into  effect  would 
relieve  in  a  large  measure  the  danger  that  the  nation  confronts. 

First  of  all,  and  most  important,  I  believe,  a  national  child 
labor  law  should  be  passed  at  once,  prohibiting  under  any  con- 
ditions, the  employment  of  a  child  under  16  years  of  age.  This 
will  keep  a  child  in  school  where  he  belongs  so  that  his  hand  and 
brain  may  be  carefully  trained  for  the  serious  problems  of  life 
that  he  must  undertake  and  for  which  it  is  our  duty  to  carefully 
prepare  him.  This  is  more  serious  now  than  ever  before  because 
greater  efficiency  will  be  required  in  the  struggle  for  trade  and  a 
livelihood  now  that  the  war  is  over. 

The  next  step,  I  believe,  should  be  the  undertaking  of  a  move- 
ment by  the  Government  at  once,  through  the  State  Councils  of 
Defense  throughout  the  country,  whereby  their  County  Chair- 
men will  be  immediately  instructed  to  notify  all  architects,  and 
contractors  and  engineers,  of  every  character  in  the  county,  to 
ascertain  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  what  improvements  of 
any  character  or  nature  whatever,  either  private,  quasi-public, 
or  public,  are  contemplated  by  individuals  or  corporations  in 
that  particular  county. 

[85] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

Then  the  government  and  the  railroads  should  ascertain  at 
once  what  particular  improvements  in  the  way  of  rehabilitation 
or  extension  of  railroads  will  be  required,  all  over  the  United 
States. 

Every  public  utility  corporation  in  the  United  States  should 
be  invited  to  a  conference  to  be  held  at  Washington  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  and  these  corporations  should  state  what  ex- 
tensions or  improvements  they  now  contemplate,  and  what  finan- 
cial assistance  will  be  required  to  carry  out  these  improvements. 

When  the  government  has  all  this  information  carefully  tab- 
ulated, it  should  reduce  all  these  improvements  to  quantities  of 
material  and  number  of  men  in  each  particular  trade,  and  hours 
that  will  be  required  to  finish  all  this  work.  The  same  basis 
should  appl}'  to  all  public  road  improvements,  to  all  inland  wa- 
terway improvements,  water  power  improvements  along  these 
waterways,  all  additional  ship  building  contemplated  by  the 
Government  both  for  foreign  commerce  and  for  inland  water- 
ways, and  all  terminals,  docks,  and  in  fact,  every  improvement 
of  every  kind  or  nature  whatever  that  is  contemplated  in  the 
United  States  at  this  time,  whether  it  be  a  dwelling  house," 
business  building,  water  power,  or  light  plant,  an  alteration  in 
machinery,  or  buildings,  anything  in  fact  that  will  require  ma- 
terial and  men. 

In  addition  to  that,  if  the  government  contemplates  the  ir- 
rigation of  arid  lands,  giving  soldiers  homesteads  on  these  lands 
or  whatever  basis  the  government  decides  the  soldier  shall  pay 
for  them,  furnishing  lumber  and  material  for  the  building  of 
homes,  and  other  farm  improvements,  including  implements,  all 
these  things  should  be  included  in  a  consideration  of  this  prob- 
lem, and  then  as  soon  as  this  is  done,  or  even  while  it  is  being 
done, — and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  perhaps  it  should  be  started 
before  anything  is  done, — competent  persons  should  be  sent  by 
this  government  over  to  our  armies  abroad,  and  to  the  soldiers 

[86] 


AFTER  THE  WAR—WHAT? 

who  have  not  yet  gone  over  or  who  have  returned,  and  a  survey 
should  be  made  immediately  of  every  man  or  woman,  and  the 
trade  or  profession  that  such  a  person  is  best  qualified  to  adopt 
should  be  tabulated  carefully,  to  the  end  that  we  know  at  once 
how  many  men  and  women  we  have  in  the  service  of  the  country 
and  what  each  man  and  woman  is  best  fitted  for. 

We  cannot  pay  much  attention  to  what  these  men  were  good 
for  before  they  went  over  to  the  other  side,  because  they  have 
been  trained  since  then.  Many  men  have  had  no  mechanical 
training  previous  to  their  enlistment.  Since  entering  the  service 
of  the  country  they  have  been  educated  where  before  they  were 
without  education.  Many  of  them  are  physically  stronger  than 
they  were  when  they  went  over.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  effi- 
ciency and  physical  qualifications  of  every  man  or  woman  who 
has  seen  service  during  the  war  (at  least  every  man,  unless  he 
has  been  injured),  is  undoubtedly  highly  improved,  and  the  men 
that  come  back  from  the  other  side  are  or  will  be  in  a  position  to 
fill  better  positions  than  they  occupied  before  they  went  into  the 
service  of  the  countr3\  Thank  God  that  with  all  the  horrors 
of  this  war  at  least  that  asset  can  never  be  taken  away  from  this 
nation. 

As  soon  as  conditions  warrant,  the  army  should  be  demobil- 
ized over  there  militarily,  by  remobilizing  it  at  the  same  time  in- 
dustrially. In  other  words,  if  after  these  contemplated  improve- 
ments are  established,  we  find  that  we  require,  say,  50,000  ma- 
chinists, then  50,000  machinists  should  be  released  first,  and  sent 
over  to  this  countr3^  They  should  be  placed  immediately  where 
they  are  needed,  and  so  on  through  each  trade  or  profession. 
In  that  way,  there  will  be  no  interruption  to  the  business  of  the 
nation  from  now  on.  In  that  way  we  will  efficiently  handle  that 
serious  "after-the-war"  problem.  In  that  way,  there  will  be  no 
loss  of  time  and  no  industrial  depression.  Every  seaman  who  is 
now  in  the  sen'ice  of  the  country  should  be  permitted  to  stay  on 

[87] 


RECONSTRUCTING  AMERICA 

ships  if  he  wishes  to  follow  a  seafaring  vocation.  These  ships 
that  we  have  built  will  be  used  hereafter  for  purposes  of  peace, 
and  this  will  keep  in  employment  all  these  seamen  who  prefer 
that  life.  If  the  government  needs  employes  for  other  peace 
work,  as  it  will,  it  ought  to  select  those  also  from  the  number,  so 
that  when  the  government  is  through  (and  the  government  should 
have  first  choice  of  all  men  in  the  service)  all  others  should  be 
turned  over  to  this  nation. 

If  a  plan  of  that  kind  is  adopted,  I  feel  satisfied  that  with 
the  efficiency  and  energy  that  these  men,  who  are  now  in  the 
service  will  bring  into  this  country,  with  the  enlargement  of  our 
merchant  marine,  the  manufacturers  and  farmers  of  this  coun- 
try will  be  able  to  transport  the  products  of  the  soil  and  the 
factories  and  the  mines  to  all  parts  of  the  world  in  competition 
with  any  other  nation.  The  fact  is,  there  has  been  so  much 
destruction  of  property  on  the  other  side  that  rehabilitation  will 
probably  be  left  in  a  large  measure  to  this  country,  because  we 
will  be  better  able  to  immediately  give  the  material  and  men  that 
will  be  required  to  reconstruct.  I  think  it  is  of  importance  also, 
that  when  our  experts  go  over  there,  they  should  ascertain  what 
rehabilitation  material  and  men  will  bo  required  over  there  as 
well,  and  suflicient  men  may  be  loft  over  there  for  that  purposa 
Working  on  an  intelligent  basis,  perhaps  along  the  lines  that  are 
suggested  in  this  chapter,  I  believe  that  following  the  war,  we 
will  have  a  period  of  genuine  prosperity,  instead  of  war  prosper- 
ity, which  period  we  have  been  passing  through,  and  which  will 
soon  crumble,  if  we  have  not  the  business  acumen  at  this  time 
to  provide  for  this  great  emergency.  We  must  also  keep  in  mind 
that  by  reason  of  the  war,  many  people  were  advised  to  practice 
self  denial.  There  will  be  millions  upon  millions  that  the  people 
will  be  ready  to  spend  for  the  things  they  have  denied  themselves 
the  moment  they  are  assured  that  there  is  to  be  no  financial  pauiB 
in  this  country  now  that  the  war  is  ended. 

[88] 


AFTER  THE  WAR— WHAT? 

The  writer  is  making  every  effort  to  place  this  book  in  circu- 
lation at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and  he  recommends 
strongly,  and  will  immediately  ask  the  Administration  to  arouse 
the  interest  of  business  organizations  throughout  the  country,  to 
the  end  that  they  will  not  stop,  now  that  the  war  is  over,  but  will 
bend  every  energy  to  keep  their  war  organizations  intact  as  far 
as  possible,  that  they  will  send  the  most  intelligent  and  highest 
regarded  speakers  that  they  can  procure,  throughout  the  coun- 
try addressing  large  bodies  of  people  on  the  important  readjust- 
ment and  reconstruction  problems  that  must  confront  the  nation 
during  this  "after-the-war"  period.  Our  foreign  neighbors  are 
going  to  bend  every  effort  to  readjust  their  affairs  in  order  to 
quickly  re-enter  the  economic  field  that  they  had  to  neglect  dur- 
ing the  war.  They  will  make  a  greater  and  more  determined 
effort  than  ever  to  capture  the  markets  of  the  world  and  so  it 
behooves  us  to  spread  the  doctrine  of  efficiency  and  thrift  and 
energy  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  nation. 


199 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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i.rJi  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001  167127    8 


^^{^^ 


